Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
May 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agusm.p31a..04h&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2002, abstract #P31A-04
Mathematics
Logic
3662 Meteorites, 3672 Planetary Mineralogy And Petrology (5410), 5410 Composition, 5464 Remote Sensing
Scientific paper
Martian meteorites provide a wealth of information about the geology of Mars, but cannot be placed into the appropriate geologic context because we do not know from where they originated on the surface. The TES and THEMIS instruments provide high spectral and spatial resolution global data sets in the thermal infrared (about 6 to 50 microns) that can be used to search for the spectral signatures of the meteorites. If one or more source regions can be located and linked to local geologic units, crater counts on those units could be directly linked to the absolute age of the meteorite(s) and would provide a means of refining the martian geologic time scale. Six martian meteorite spectra representing all five major lithologies (Zagami and Los Angeles - shergottites, ALH77005 - lherzolite, Nakhla - clinopyroxenite, ALH84001 - orthopyroxenite, and Chassigny - dunite) have been used (with previously derived atmospheric and surface end members) to deconvolve TES data of dark regions (Lambert albedo less than 0.24). Global maps of the derived abundance of each meteorite end member confirm that no spatially extensive dark regions on Mars are dominated by spectral shapes resembling those of any of the five major martian meteorite lithologies. However, several local (10's to 100's of km) areas have been identified in maps of the Chassigny, ALH77005, and ALH84001 end members, where concentrations of these spectral end members were identified at or above TES detectability limits (0.10) in multiple pixels. Although these detections do not necessarily represent the meteorites' source regions, they are starting points in the search for those sources, and represent areas with mineralogies that are different than the basaltic and andesitic surfaces previously identified in TES data. A Nakhla-like component has been identified at low concentrations in numerous localized areas, but requires further analysis for a confident identification. Shergottite lithologies have not been confidently identified yet at the scales considered here (16 and 32 pixels per degree), and suggest that these lithologies may be restricted to dusty, young volcanic provinces such as Tharsis and Elysium. The global paucity of meteorite-like lithologies in martian dark regions suggests that the meteorites are a biased sampling of the martian crust. We will present an update of the TES results using data from THEMIS that permit a higher spatial resolution view of the sites where meteorite-like mineralogies are identified.
Christensen Per Rex
Hamilton Victoria E.
McSween Harry Y.
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