Physics
Scientific paper
May 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agusm.p31a..06m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P31A-06
Physics
5410 Composition (1060, 3672), 5480 Volcanism (6063, 8148, 8450), 8439 Physics And Chemistry Of Magma Bodies
Scientific paper
Based on remote sensing measurements and the compositions of martian meteorites, the surface of Mars is inferred to be dominated by subalkaline mafic volcanic rocks. However, the Spirit rover has recently discovered lavas of alkalic composition. Picritic (Adirondack class) basalts with high alkali and low silica contents were previously analyzed on the plains of Gusev Crater, and two new classes of dark, fine-grained, relatively unaltered volcanic rocks with distinctive thermal emission spectra have now been found as float and in a possible dike at high elevations in the Columbia Hills. Chemical analyses indicate that these rocks are mildly alkaline basalt and trachybasalt, respectively. Their mineralogy consists of Na- and K-rich feldspar(s), low- and high-Ca pyroxenes, ferroan olivine, Fe-Ti (and possibly Cr) oxides, phosphate, and possibly glass. Chemical compositions of these rocks lie along a MELTS-calculated liquid line of descent for Adirondack class basalt. Systematic changes in normative mineralogy are consistent with the calculated magmatic fractionation. We infer that Backstay- and Irvine-class magmas may have formed by low-pressure fractionation of primitive, oxidized Adirondack-class magmas and were possibly emplaced coevally with the plains basalts. The compositions of these rocks reveal that the Gusev magmatic province is alkaline, distinct from the subalkaline volcanic rocks thought to dominate most of the planet's surface. This discovery may have implications for the composition of the martian mantle source region and the conditions under which it melted.
ACS Science Team
McSween Harry Y.
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