The Mineralogy of Mars: Results from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

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5410 Composition, 5464 Remote Sensing, 5480 Volcanism (8450)

Scientific paper

The mineralogy of Mars has been mapped globally by the MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument at a resolution of ~5 km. These data show that the mineralogic composition of volcanic materials is basaltic, composed primarily of plagioclase feldspar and clinopyroxene with minor olivine, in the ancient, southern hemisphere highlands, and andesitic, dominated by plagioclase feldspar and volcanic glass, in the younger northern plains. Aqueous mineralization has occurred in limited regions under ambient or hydrothermal conditions. Gray, crystalline hematite is found in three unique locations that are interpreted to be in-place sedimentary rock formations, indicating that liquid water was stable near the surface for a long period of time. There is no evidence for carbonates at a detection limit of ~10% large-scale (10's km), moderate-grained (>50 μm) deposits of >10% carbonates are not currently exposed at the martian surface. Unweathered volcanic minerals (pyroxene and feldspar) dominate the spectral properties of martian dark regions. Weathering products, such as clays, have not been observed above the TES detection limit (~10%). This lack of evidence for significant chemical weathering of the martian surface indicates a geologic history dominated by a cold, dry climate in which mechanical, rather than chemical, weathering was the dominant form of erosion and sediment production.

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