Searching for Evidence of Aqueous Processes on Mars Through Spectral Identification of Alteration Minerals

Details Searching for Evidence of Aqueous Processes on Mars Through Spectral Identification of Alteration Minerals Searching for Evidence of Aqueous Processes on Mars Through Spectral Identification of Alteration Minerals

Dec 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p61b0348b&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P61B-0348

Biology

5464 Remote Sensing, 6225 Mars

Scientific paper

The surface mineralogy on Mars holds information about the environmental and geochemical records on that planet and may provide clues to past aqueous processes there. Analysis of the kind of chemical alteration that has taken place on Mars provides insights into major climate and environmental factors such as when and how much water was present on the surface of Mars. Surface images taken by Odyssey-THEMIS and MGS-MOC have introduced the possibility that aqueous processes have occurred in recent martian history and evidence from GRS on Odyssey for H2O-ice and/or hydrated minerals supports this as well. However, little evidence for alteration minerals on Mars is available from the spectral images to date. Work is underway in the lab and in the field in order to characterize the spectral properties and formation conditions of these minerals in volcanic and hydrothermal sources on Earth so that these minerals may be revealed in future spectral datasets of Mars if present. Determining whether or not hydrated iron oxides and sheet silicates are present in the dust on Mars is important for assessing potential aqueous and hydrothermal processes that may have occurred there. Sheet silicates and hydrated iron oxides typically require water for formation and specific sheet silicates are favored depending on the degree of moisture, temperature and other conditions. These minerals are frequently observed in altered volcanic material and hydrothermal springs on the Earth and would be expected on Mars if water was present. The motivation for this study is to gain information about possible aqueous processes on Mars through analysis of the chemical alteration that has taken place there. Identification of aqueous alteration on Mars would imply the presence of water and, thus, would have important implications for astrobiology, climate, and geoscience on Mars.

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