Reflectance Spectra and Optical Constants of Kieserite and Sulfate Mixtures For Mars

Details Reflectance Spectra and Optical Constants of Kieserite and Sulfate Mixtures For Mars Reflectance Spectra and Optical Constants of Kieserite and Sulfate Mixtures For Mars

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p33b1762p&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P33B-1762

Biology

[3934] Mineral Physics / Optical, Infrared, And Raman Spectroscopy, [5220] Planetary Sciences: Astrobiology / Hydrothermal Systems And Weathering On Other Planets, [5470] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Surface Materials And Properties, [6225] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mars

Scientific paper

In this work, we present visible and near-infrared (VNIR, λ=0.35 - 5 μm) laboratory reflectance spectra obtained at Mars-relevant temperatures and corresponding optical constants (real and imaginary refractive indices) for hydrated sulfates that have been observed on Mars, e.g., via Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM and Mars Express OMEGA spectrometers. In the laboratory, we have successfully synthesized 5 hydration states of Mg-sulfates posited to exist on Mars: kieserite, sanderite, starkeyite, hexahydrite, and epsomite. Epsomite and hexahydrite salts are expected to form on Mars when MgSO4/(SO4+Cl)-rich solutions are concentrated. Amorphous derivatives of epsomite and hexahydrite or lower-order Mg-sulfate hydrates (starkeyite, sanderite, kieserite) are believed to be stable on Mars. Kieserite in particular has been positively identified on Mars in several locations (e.g., Meridiani Planum, Eastern Candor & Capri Chasma, Iani and Aram Chaos) with several mission datasets. Therefore, we present VNIR reflectance spectra and optical constants on kieserite in both its low and high humidity polymorphs, and similar data on mixtures of our hydrated sulfates with each other and with different Mars simulants: JSC Mars-1 (glassy, altered volcanic ash that is a good spectral analog for Mars dust and Mars bright regions) and Mars Mojave Simulant (a crystalline material analogous to Mars rocks). These data will help to fully distinguish between and constrain the abundance and distribution of hydrated sulfates on the martian surface, which will lead to improvements in understanding the pressure, temperature, and humidity conditions and how active frost, groundwater, and atmospheric processes once were on Mars. This work is supported by NASA's Mars Fundamental Research Program (NNX10AP78G: PI Pitman) and partly performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. CSJ acknowledges support from the NASA Postdoctoral Program, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

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