ChemCam results from the Shaler outcrop in Gale crater, Mars

• Published in: Icarus
• Main Authors: Anderson, Ryan, Bridges, J.C., Williams, A., Edgar, L., Ollila, A., Williams, J., Nachon, M., Mangold, N., Fisk, M., Schieber, J., Gupta, S., Dromart, G., Wiens, R., Le Mouélic, Stéphane, Forni, O., Lanza, N., Mezzacappa, A., Sautter, V., Blaney, D., Clark, B., Clegg, S., Gasnault, O., Lasue, J., Léveillé, R., Lewin, E., Lewis, K.W., Maurice, S., Newsom, H., Schwenzer, S.P., Vaniman, D.
• Other Authors: Astrogeology Science Center Flagstaff, United States Geological Survey Reston (USGS), Space Research Centre Leicester, University of Leicester, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Santa Cruz, University of California Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), Arizona State University Tempe (ASU), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Albuquerque (EPS), The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Consortium (NMC)-New Mexico Consortium (NMC), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Corvallis (CEOAS), Oregon State University (OSU), Department of Geological Sciences Bloomington, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University System-Indiana University System, Department of Earth Science and Technology Imperial College London, Imperial College London, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement (LGL-TPE), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Optical Science Center for Applied Research (OSCAR), Delaware State University (DSU), Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (IMPMC), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD : UR206-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Science Institute Boulder (SSI), Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University = Université McGill Montréal, Canada, Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD : UR219-PRES Université de Grenoble-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Dept. of Physical Sciences, The Open University Milton Keynes (OU), Planetary Science Institute Tucson (PSI)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: Mars; surface Mineralogy; Spectroscopy; [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Yellowknife
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01122787; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.07.025

International audience The ChemCam campaign at the fluvial sedimentary outcrop ‘‘Shaler’’ resulted in observations of 28non-soil targets, 26 of which included active laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and all ofwhich included Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) images. The Shaler outcrop can be divided into seven faciesbased on grain size, texture, color, resistance to erosion, and sedimentary structures. The ChemCamobservations cover Facies 3 through 7. For all targets, the majority of the grains were below the limitof the RMI resolution, but many targets had a portion of resolvable grains coarser than 0.5 mm. The Shalerfacies show significant scatter in LIBS spectra and compositions from point to point, but several keycompositional trends are apparent, most notably in the average K2O content of the observed facies. Facies3 is lower in K2O than the other facies and is similar in composition to the ‘‘snake,’’ a clastic dike thatoccurs lower in the Yellowknife Bay stratigraphic section. Facies 7 is enriched in K2O relative to the otherfacies and shows some compositional and textural similarities to float rocks near Yellowknife Bay. Theremaining facies (4, 5, and 6) are similar in composition to the Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake members,although the Shaler facies have slightly elevated K2O and FeOT. Several analysis points within Shaler suggestthe presence of feldspars, though these points have excess FeOT which suggests the presence of Feoxide cement or inclusions. The majority of LIBS analyses have compositions which indicate that theyhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.07.0250019-1035/Published by Elsevier Inc.⇑ Corresponding author.E-mail addresses: [e-mail] (R. Anderson), [e-mail] (J.C. Bridges), [e-mail] (A. Williams), [e-mail] (L. Edgar), [e-mail] (A. Ollila), [e-mail] (J. Williams), [e-mail] (M. Nachon), [e-mail] (N. Mangold), [e-mail] (M. Fisk),[e-mail] (J. Schieber), ...