Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p13a1267w&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P13A-1267
Physics
[3612] Mineralogy And Petrology / Reactions And Phase Equilibria, [3620] Mineralogy And Petrology / Mineral And Crystal Chemistry, [5415] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Erosion And Weathering, [5470] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Surface Materials And Properties
Scientific paper
Large deposits of hydrous Mg-sulfates was identified on Mars by orbital remote sensing (OMEGA on Mars Express and CRISM on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Kieserite (MgSO4.H2O) and a non-specific “polyhydrated sulfates” are among the most observed and widely distributed sulfates (Bibring et al., 2005, Murchie et al., 2007). They frequently co-exist (Gendrin et al., 2005) and sometimes occur in alternative stratigraphic layers (Roach et al., 2008). Mg-sulfates were suggested, by compositional correlations and mineral models, to exist in Meridiani outcrops (Clark et al., 2005) and in rocks and regolith at Gusev (Squyres et al., 2006, Haskin et al., 2005, Wang et al., 2006, 2008); but no information on the hydration state of these sulfates can be extracted. We have conducted 188 experiments to investigate the stability fields and phase transition pathways of hydrous Mg-sulfates (Wang et al., 2009). In addition, we can extract the information on the reaction rates of five important dehydration and rehydration processes involved in these experiments. Our experiments were done at four temperatures (50°C, 21°C, 5°C, and -10°C) and ten relative humidity levels, with five hydrous Mg-sulfate species as starting phases. The rate information was extracted from the mineral identifications of the intermediate reaction products, measured by non-invasive Raman spectroscopy at regular time intervals during the entire duration of experiments (tens’ thousands hours). The rates for five processes are all strongly controlled by temperatures. We found that the experimental results match Arrhenius equation very well, thus the rate constants for dehydration and rehydration processes of Mg-sulfates at lower temperatures (down to 180K) can be approximately estimated by using the experimentally derived pre-exponential factor(s) and activation energy(s). In this study, only the orders of magnitudes for reaction rate ratios at different temperatures were considered. The estimated reaction rate ratios at different temperatures for five important processes helped us to understand the stable, especially the metastable, Mg-sulfate species that could be seen at Mars surface in non-polar regions during a moderate obliquity period. Therefore in addition to exam the spectral similarity, we now can use the knowledge gained through the laboratory experiments on stability field, phase transition pathway, and reaction rate of Mg-sulfates to evaluate the realistic mineral candidates for “polyhydrated sulfates”, that were so widely observed on Mars by OMEGA and CRISM. Furthermore, we will be able to investigate the formation mechanism of alternative stratigraphic layers of sulfates on Mars and the paleo-climatic conditions that they may imply.
Freeman John J.
Wang Anzhong
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