Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p72a0488s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P72A-0488
Physics
3630 Experimental Mineralogy And Petrology
Scientific paper
Experiments to determine the crystallization sequence of the Mars PathFinder (MPF) rock composition have been carried out to explore the possible mineral assemblages present in this SiO2-rich (57.4 wt.%) Martian igneous rock. Recent MGS thermal emission spectrometer observations (Bandfield et al., 2000) have suggested the presence of large volumes of andesitic lava covering the northern hemisphere of Mars, but this interpretation has been called into question. Experimentally produced mineral assemblages can be used to infer spectral characteristics that would exist in lavas similar in composition to the MPF rock. The inferred spectra could then be used to examine remotely sensed data to further constrain the identity of surface rock types on Mars. We performed a series of 1 atmoshpere experiments at the QFM oxygen buffer using the calculated soil free MPF composition reported by Wanke et al.(2001). Experiments were performed over a temperature range of 1200 to 1000°C and experimental durations were 10 days. The liquidus of the MPF composition is approx. 1075°C where plagioclase (An 94) and quartz become the saturating phases. At 1050°C, augite (Wo= 30; mg#= 43) joins the sequence. Fe-Ti oxides have joined the crystallization assemblage at 1000°C. Therefore, the potential mineralogy for a lava with the MPF composition would be SiO2(57 wt.%),FeO (18 wt.%) rich glass, plagioclase, quartz, augite and Fe-Ti oxides. Cloutis and Gaffey (1991) developed a band I and II minima contoured pyroxene quadralateral in order to predict pyroxene composition based on reflectance spectra. Using the quadralateral in reverse, the augite produced in our experimental series should have band I and II minima at 0.97 and 2.15 microns respectively. No band I minima was observed in the IMP spectra taken at the Pathfinder Site near 1 micron as would be expected if pyroxene was present in the rocks at the pathfinder landing site (McSween et al., 1999). The 1 micron minima commonly associated with pyroxene has been observed from both telescopic and orbiter imaging (Mustard and Sunshine, 1995). The absence of the 1 micron minima in the IMP spectra could be due to masking phases, possibly the Fe-Ti oxides produced in our experiments at 1000°C.
Grove Timothy L.
Singletary Steven
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