Diversity of Soil Textures Along Spirit's Traverse in Gusev Crater

Details Diversity of Soil Textures Along Spirit's Traverse in Gusev Crater Diversity of Soil Textures Along Spirit's Traverse in Gusev Crater

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p53a1436c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P53A-1436

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5400 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets, 5455 Origin And Evolution, 5464 Remote Sensing, 5494 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

Since landing, Spirit has documented a diversity of bedforms i.e. dunes, ripples, drifts, and unstructured soils. Mineralogy and chemistry show basaltic soils in the Plains with limited water alteration to localized sulfate-rich soils in the Columbia Hills. While these analyses provide data about the nature of the soils, the texture of individual particles constrain their formation and the various processes affecting their evolution. Here, we present an example of quantitative techniques applied to the Microscopic Imager (MI) for analyses performed on all undisturbed soils up to Sol 1085, which represents 3,140 particles in 31 soils. Particle-size distribution, elongation, roundness/angularity, sorting, and morphology were quantified. These characteristics are indicative of soil dynamics and provide clues to understanding whether and how particles have been mobilized. Samples in the Plains Unit and Columbia Hills appear as contrasting textural domains: One is heterogeneous, with a continuum of angular-to-rounded particles of fine sand to pebble sizes and is generally dust covered and locally cemented. The second shows the effect of a dominant and ongoing dynamic aeolian process redistributing a uniform population of 270 µm-size sand. Results are consistent with volcanic, aeolian, impact, and water processes. A systematic textural classification of soils is critical for the understanding of geologic processes and their evolution on Mars and this analysis represents a first attempt in that direction. Results can also be used to more precisely model past/present erosional and depositional activity, in particular as it relates to aqueous (chemical alteration, cementation) and aeolian (wind strength, particle transport, erosion, saltation) processes over a broad range of spatial scales. The detailed evaluation of grain-size distribution is also key to link albedo to fine-grained dust deposits and thermal inertia determined from orbit.

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