Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has been exploring sedimentary deposits in Gale crater since August, 2012. The rover has traversed up section through approximately 150 m of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments (Bradbury group and overlying Mount Sh...
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ftnasantrs:oai:casi.ntrs.nasa.gov:20160006677 2023-05-15T18:45:45+02:00 Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars Morris, R. V. Ming, D. W. Rampe, E. B. Geller, R. Sutter, B. Yen, A. S. Grotzinger, J. P. Hurowitz, J. A. Blake, D. B. Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available June 5, 2016 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160006677 unknown Document ID: 20160006677 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160006677 Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright CASI Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration JSC-CN-36064 Annual Meeting of The Clay Minerals Society; 5-8 Jun. 2016; Atlanta, GA; United States 2016 ftnasantrs 2019-07-20T23:52:02Z The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has been exploring sedimentary deposits in Gale crater since August, 2012. The rover has traversed up section through approximately 150 m of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments (Bradbury group and overlying Mount Sharp group). The Murray formation lies at the base of the Mt. Sharp group and has been interpreted to be a finely laminated mudstone likely deposited in a subaqueous lacustrine environment. Four drill samples from several elevations in the Murray fm have been acquired by the rover's sampling system and delivered to the CheMin XRD instrument. The lower section of the Murray fm contains 2:1 phyllosilicate(s), hematite, jarosite, XRD amorphous materials, and primary basaltic minerals. Further up section, the Murray fm contains magnetite, cristobalite, tridymite, abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials along with plagioclase and K-feldspars. Murray formation materials appear to have been altered under an open hydrologic system based on the bulk chemistry of these materials measured by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The 2:1 phyllosilicate only occurs in the lowermost section of the Murray fm and may be detrital or formed during authigenesis of Murray fm materials, similar to the Fe-saponite and magnetite detected in a mudstone in the Yellowknife Bay fm near Curiosity's landing site (stratigraphically at the base of the Bradbury group). The occurrence of jarosite and hematite in the lower section indicates an acidic diagenetic event. These phases may have formed via several acidic alteration mechanisms, including (1) oxidative weathering of mafic igneous rocks containing sulfides; (2) sulfuric acid weathering of Fe-bearing phases; and (3) near-neutral pH subsurface solutions rich in Fe2(+) that were rapidly oxidized to Fe3(+), which produced excess acidity. The transition from abundant hematite in the lowermost Murray fm to magnetite moving up section may indicate changes in lake chemistry, i.e., variable redox conditions, possibly during authigenesis or subsequent diagenetic events. Tridymite, a high temperature mineral, (and possibly cristobalite) is detrital, potentially deposited in a lake from a distal silicic volcanic rock source or from crustal materials present prior to the Gale Crater impact event. Abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials in the upper sections of the Murray fm may be detrital or an aqueous alteration product of primary igneous phases and phyllosilicates. Curiosity's science team is still deciphering the authigenesis and diagenetic events that formed the Murray fm. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the formation suggest a complicated history with several (many?) episodes of aqueous alteration under a variety of environmental conditions. Other/Unknown Material Yellowknife NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Mount Sharp ENVELOPE(-58.079,-58.079,-63.855,-63.855) Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay ENVELOPE(-114.336,-114.336,62.367,62.367) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
op_collection_id |
ftnasantrs |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
spellingShingle |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration Morris, R. V. Ming, D. W. Rampe, E. B. Geller, R. Sutter, B. Yen, A. S. Grotzinger, J. P. Hurowitz, J. A. Blake, D. B. Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
topic_facet |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
description |
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has been exploring sedimentary deposits in Gale crater since August, 2012. The rover has traversed up section through approximately 150 m of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments (Bradbury group and overlying Mount Sharp group). The Murray formation lies at the base of the Mt. Sharp group and has been interpreted to be a finely laminated mudstone likely deposited in a subaqueous lacustrine environment. Four drill samples from several elevations in the Murray fm have been acquired by the rover's sampling system and delivered to the CheMin XRD instrument. The lower section of the Murray fm contains 2:1 phyllosilicate(s), hematite, jarosite, XRD amorphous materials, and primary basaltic minerals. Further up section, the Murray fm contains magnetite, cristobalite, tridymite, abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials along with plagioclase and K-feldspars. Murray formation materials appear to have been altered under an open hydrologic system based on the bulk chemistry of these materials measured by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The 2:1 phyllosilicate only occurs in the lowermost section of the Murray fm and may be detrital or formed during authigenesis of Murray fm materials, similar to the Fe-saponite and magnetite detected in a mudstone in the Yellowknife Bay fm near Curiosity's landing site (stratigraphically at the base of the Bradbury group). The occurrence of jarosite and hematite in the lower section indicates an acidic diagenetic event. These phases may have formed via several acidic alteration mechanisms, including (1) oxidative weathering of mafic igneous rocks containing sulfides; (2) sulfuric acid weathering of Fe-bearing phases; and (3) near-neutral pH subsurface solutions rich in Fe2(+) that were rapidly oxidized to Fe3(+), which produced excess acidity. The transition from abundant hematite in the lowermost Murray fm to magnetite moving up section may indicate changes in lake chemistry, i.e., variable redox conditions, possibly during authigenesis or subsequent diagenetic events. Tridymite, a high temperature mineral, (and possibly cristobalite) is detrital, potentially deposited in a lake from a distal silicic volcanic rock source or from crustal materials present prior to the Gale Crater impact event. Abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials in the upper sections of the Murray fm may be detrital or an aqueous alteration product of primary igneous phases and phyllosilicates. Curiosity's science team is still deciphering the authigenesis and diagenetic events that formed the Murray fm. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the formation suggest a complicated history with several (many?) episodes of aqueous alteration under a variety of environmental conditions. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Morris, R. V. Ming, D. W. Rampe, E. B. Geller, R. Sutter, B. Yen, A. S. Grotzinger, J. P. Hurowitz, J. A. Blake, D. B. |
author_facet |
Morris, R. V. Ming, D. W. Rampe, E. B. Geller, R. Sutter, B. Yen, A. S. Grotzinger, J. P. Hurowitz, J. A. Blake, D. B. |
author_sort |
Morris, R. V. |
title |
Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
title_short |
Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
title_full |
Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
title_fullStr |
Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
title_full_unstemmed |
Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars |
title_sort |
authigenesis/diagenesis of the murray formation mudstone in gale crater, mars |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160006677 |
op_coverage |
Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-58.079,-58.079,-63.855,-63.855) ENVELOPE(-114.336,-114.336,62.367,62.367) |
geographic |
Mount Sharp Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay |
geographic_facet |
Mount Sharp Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay |
genre |
Yellowknife |
genre_facet |
Yellowknife |
op_source |
CASI |
op_relation |
Document ID: 20160006677 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160006677 |
op_rights |
Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
_version_ |
1766236887848058880 |