Evidence for a clay cycle on early Mars

Details Evidence for a clay cycle on early Mars Evidence for a clay cycle on early Mars

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p23b1713c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P23B-1713

Biology

[3672] Mineralogy And Petrology / Planetary Mineralogy And Petrology, [5220] Planetary Sciences: Astrobiology / Hydrothermal Systems And Weathering On Other Planets, [5464] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Remote Sensing, [6225] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mars

Scientific paper

Investigations of the morphology and mineralogy of early (Noachian) Mars have revealed ample evidence for liquid water-rock interactions at and near the surface, which may be the remnants of more habitable environments than today's. A number of valley networks [1], paleolakes [2], deltaic features [3,4] and sedimentary deposits [5] have been identified, suggesting that a surface and sub-surface hydrological system once existed on Mars. Mineralogical evidence includes the widespread detection of hydrated clays associated with Noachian terrains (e.g. [6,7]). The state of this early environment conducive to the formation of clays remains elusive as they are usually found in degraded morphological contexts and are to the first order decoupled in time and space with the fluvial morphology [8]. In particular, doubt remains whether the bulk of the aqueous alteration took place under the surface or as part of a surface hydrological system and thus implying stable liquid water over geological timescales. We present an overview of the early aqueous alteration on Mars through a combination of global mapping and regional investigations. We use NIR imaging spectrometer data from the spaceborne OMEGA and CRISM instruments [9,10] coupled with hi-resolution imaging data for context. We have detected over a thousand individual hydrated mineral exposures and investigated their composition and setting. We find that clays are found at a planetary scale, mostly in middle Noachian terrains and often associated with impact structures. Detailed investigation of the coupling between composition and context reveals that a clay cycle similar Earth's once existed on Mars, with all major settings: pedogenesis, transport, authigenic formation, diagenesis, metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration. We will present the major trends as inferred by global mapping and illustrate the different contexts through regional investigations. [1] Hynek et al., JGR 115, E09008 (2010). [2] Fassett et al., Icarus 198, 37-56 (2008). [3] Kraal et al., Icarus 194, 101-110 (2008). [4] Ansan et al., Icarus 211, 273-304 (2011). [5] Malin et al., Science 298, 1927 (2000). [6] Bibring et al., Science 312, 5772 (2006). [7] Carter et al., Proc. LPSC 42, 1608 (2011). [8] Fassett et al., Icarus 211, 1204-1214 (2011). [9] Bibring et al., ESA Spec. Pub. 1240, 37 (2004). [10] Murchie et al., JGR 112, E05S03 (2007).

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