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1. The Impact of Measurement Scale on the Univariate Statistics of K, Th, and U in the Earth Crust

Author

D. Baratoux, M. Fall, P.‐Y. Meslin, M. W. Jessell, O. Vanderhaeghe, J.‐F. Moyen, P. M. Ndiaye, K. Boamah, L. Baratoux, and A.‐S. André‐Mayer

Subjects
potassium, uranium, thorium, geostatistics, radiometrics, Astronomy, QB1-991, Geology, QE1-996.5
Abstract

Abstract The univariate statistics of Potassium (K), thorium (Th), and uranium (U) concentrations, in the Earth’s oceanic and continental crust are examined by different techniques. The frequency distributions of the concentrations of these elements in the oceanic crust are derived from a global catalog of mid‐ocean ridge basalts. Their frequency distributions of concentrations in the continental crust are illustrated by the North Pilbara Craton, and the West Africa Craton. For these two cratons, the distributions of K, Th, and U derived from geochemical analyses of several thousand whole rock samples differ significantly from those derived from airborne radiometric surveys. The distributions from airborne surveys tends to be more symmetric with smaller standard deviations than the right‐skewed distributions inferred from whole rock geochemical analyses. Hypothetic causes of these differences include (a) bias in rock sampling or in airborne surveys, (b) the differences between the chemistry of superficial material and rocks, and (c) the differences in scales of measurements. The scale factor, viewed as consequence of the central limit theorem applied to K, Th, and U concentrations, appears to account for most of the observed differences in the distributions of K, Th, and U. It suggests that the three scales of auto‐correlation of K, Th, and U concentrations are of the same order of magnitude as the resolution of the airborne radiometric surveys (50–200 m). Concentrations of K, Th, and U are therefore generally heterogenous at smaller scales.

Published
2021
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2. The Impact of Measurement Scale on the Univariate Statistics of K, Th, and U in the Earth Crust

Author

Mark Jessell, P.-Y. Meslin, Anne-Sylvie André-Mayer, Makhoudia Fall, Jean-François Moyen, David Baratoux, Olivier Vanderhaeghe, K. Boamah, P. Ndiaye, Lenka Baratoux, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), 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)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), 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), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
QE1-996.5, Univariate analysis, radiometrics, Astronomy, potassium, Continental crust, Geochemistry, chemistry.chemical_element, Thorium, QB1-991, Geology, Geostatistics, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Uranium, thorium, uranium, chemistry, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], General Earth and Planetary Sciences, geostatistics, Earth crust, Scale (map), Earth (classical element)
Abstract

International audience; The univariate statistics of Potassium (K), thorium (Th), and uranium (U) concentrations, in the Earth's oceanic and continental crust are examined by different techniques. The frequency distributions of the concentrations of these elements in the oceanic crust are derived from a global catalog of mid-ocean ridge basalts. Their frequency distributions of concentrations in the continental crust are illustrated by the North Pilbara Craton, and the West Africa Craton. For these two cratons, the distributions of K, Th, and U derived from geochemical analyses of several thousand whole rock samples differ significantly from those derived from airborne radiometric surveys. The distributions from airborne surveys tends to be more symmetric with smaller standard deviations than the right-skewed distributions inferred from whole rock geochemical analyses. Hypothetic causes of these differences include (a) bias in rock sampling or in airborne surveys, (b) the differences between the chemistry of superficial material and rocks, and (c) the differences in scales of measurements. The scale factor, viewed as consequence of the central limit theorem applied to K, Th, and U concentrations, appears to account for most of the observed differences in the distributions of K, Th, and U. It suggests that the three scales of auto-correlation of K, Th, and U concentrations are of the same order of magnitude as the resolution of the airborne radiometric surveys (50-200 m). Concentrations of K, Th, and U are therefore generally heterogenous at smaller scales.

Published
2021
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4. Iron Mobility During Diagenesis at Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars

Author

J. L'Haridon, N. Mangold, A. A. Fraeman, J. R. Johnson, A. Cousin, W. Rapin, G. David, E. Dehouck, V. Sun, J. Frydenvang, O. Gasnault, P. Gasda, N. Lanza, O. Forni, P.‐Y. Meslin, S. P. Schwenzer, J. Bridges, B. Horgan, C. H. House, M. Salvatore, S. Maurice, R. C. Wiens, 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), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Geological Institute [Copenhagen], University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU), University of Leicester, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indiana University System, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System, Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Météo France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Météo France-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), 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), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), and ANR-16-CE31-0012,MARS-PRIME,Environnement Primitif de Mars(2016)

Subjects
Recrystallization (geology), 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Outcrop, sedimentary rocks, [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], Iron oxide, Geochemistry, FOS: Physical sciences, Mars, 01 natural sciences, chemistry.chemical_compound, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, Geochemistry and Petrology, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), iron mobility, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Hematite, diagenetic, Diagenesis, redox processes, Geophysics, Curiosity, chemistry, ChemCam, Space and Planetary Science, rover, visual_art, visual_art.visual_art_medium, Ridge (meteorology), Sedimentary rock, Pseudomorph, diagenesis, Geology, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract

The Curiosity rover investigated a topographic structure known as Vera Rubin ridge, associated with a hematite signature in orbital spectra. There, Curiosity encountered mudstones interpreted as lacustrine deposits, conformably overlying the 300 m‐thick underlying sedimentary rocks of the Murray formation at the base of Mount Sharp. While the presence of hematite (α‐Fe2O3) was confirmed in‐situ by both Mastcam and ChemCam spectral observations and by the CheMin instrument, neither ChemCam nor APXS observed any significant increase in FeOT (total iron oxide) abundances compared to the rest of the Murray formation. Instead, Curiosity discovered dark‐toned diagenetic features displaying anomalously high FeOT abundances, commonly observed in association with light‐toned Ca‐sulfate veins but also as crystal pseudomorphs in the host rock. These iron‐rich diagenetic features are predominantly observed in “grey” outcrops on the upper part of the ridge, which lack the telltale ferric signature of other Vera Rubin ridge outcrops. Their composition is consistent with anhydrous Fe‐oxide, as the enrichment in iron is not associated with enrichment in any other elements, nor with detections of volatiles. The lack of ferric absorption features in the ChemCam reflectance spectra and the hexagonal crystalline structure associated with dark‐toned crystals points toward coarse “grey” hematite. In addition, the host rock adjacent to these features appears bleached and show low‐FeOT content as well as depletion in Mn, indicating mobilization of these redox‐sensitive elements during diagenesis. Thus, groundwater fluid circulations could account for the remobilization of iron and recrystallization as crystalline hematite during diagenesis on Vera Rubin ridge.

Published
2020
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5. The Chemostratigraphy of the Murray Formation and Role of Diagenesis at Vera Rubin Ridge in Gale Crater, Mars, as Observed by the ChemCam Instrument

Author

Patrick J. Gasda, Valerie Payre, Christopher M. Fedo, Fred Calef, Abigail A. Fraeman, Candice Bedford, Jonas L'Haridon, P.-Y. Meslin, Nina Lanza, E. B. Rampe, Lauren A. Edgar, Jens Frydenvang, Roger C. Wiens, N. Mangold, Sylvestre Maurice, John P. Grotzinger, Olivier Gasnault, John Bridges, B. C. Clark, Sunetra Gupta, Christopher H. House, A. M. Olilla, Mark R. Salvatore, 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), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), and 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)

Subjects
Chemical index, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Geochemistry, Mars, 01 natural sciences, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, Vera Rubin ridge, Geochemistry and Petrology, Chemostratigraphy, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Gale crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mars Exploration Program, Hematite, Diagenesis, Geophysics, ChemCam, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, visual_art, Ridge (meteorology), visual_art.visual_art_medium, chemostratigraphy, Clay minerals, Geology
Abstract

Geochemical results are presented from Curiosity's exploration of Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), in addition to the full chemostratigraphy of the predominantly lacustrine mudstone Murray formation up to and including VRR. VRR is a prominent ridge flanking Aeolis Mons (informally Mt. Sharp), the central mound in Gale crater, Mars, and was a key area of interest for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. ChemCam data show that VRR is overall geochemically similar to lower-lying members of the Murray formation, even though the top of VRR shows a strong hematite spectral signature as observed from orbit. Although overall geochemically similar, VRR is characterized by a prominent decrease in Li abundance and Chemical Index of Alteration across the ridge. This decrease follows the morphology of the ridge rather than elevation and is inferred to reflect a nondepositionally controlled decrease in clay mineral abundance in VRR rocks. Additionally, a notable enrichment in Mn above baseline levels is observed on VRR. While not supporting a single model, the results suggest that VRR rocks were likely affected by multiple episodes of postdepositional groundwater interactions that made them more erosionally resistant than surrounding Murray rocks, thus resulting in the modern-day ridge after subsequent erosion.

Published
2020
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6. Mineralogy of Vera Rubin Ridge from the Mars Science Laboratory CheMin Instrument

Author

Thomas F. Bristow, David J. Des Marais, Michael T. Thorpe, P. I. Craig, T. S. Peretyazhko, S. J. Chipera, Kirsten L. Siebach, B. Lafuente, Mark R. Salvatore, Albert S. Yen, David F. Blake, Robert T. Downs, Robert M. Hazen, G. W. Downs, R. V. Morris, Elizabeth B. Rampe, D. T. Vaniman, R. Gellert, R. C. Walroth, B. Sutter, John P. Grotzinger, D. W. Ming, Allan H. Treiman, P.-Y. Meslin, V. Tu, Abigail A. Fraeman, Amy McAdam, Shaunna M. Morrison, N. Castle, and Cherie N. Achilles

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Outcrop, Mineralogy, Nontronite, Mars Exploration Program, Hematite, engineering.material, 01 natural sciences, Diagenesis, Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, visual_art, Jarosite, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), visual_art.visual_art_medium, Ridge (meteorology), engineering, Clay minerals, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) is an erosion‐resistant feature on the northwestern slope of Mount Sharp in Gale crater, Mars, and orbital visible/short‐wave infrared measurements indicate it contains red‐colored hematite. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed an extensive campaign on VRR to study its mineralogy, geochemistry, and sedimentology to determine the depositional and diagenetic history of the ridge and constrain the processes by which the hematite could have formed. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) data from the CheMin instrument of four samples drilled on and below VRR demonstrate differences in iron, phyllosilicate, and sulfate mineralogy and hematite grain size. Hematite is common across the ridge, and its detection in a gray‐colored outcrop suggested localized regions with coarse‐grained hematite, which commonly forms from warm fluids. Broad XRD peaks for hematite in one sample below VRR and the abundance of FeO_T in the amorphous component suggest the presence of nano‐crystalline hematite and amorphous Fe oxides/oxyhydroxides. Well‐crystalline akaganeite and jarosite are present in two samples drilled from VRR, indicating at least limited alteration by acid‐saline fluids. Collapsed nontronite is present below VRR, but samples from VRR contain phyllosilicate with d(001) = 9.6 A, possibly from ferripyrophyllite or an acid‐altered smectite. The most likely cementing agents creating the ridge are hematite and opaline silica. We hypothesize late diagenesis can explain much of the mineralogical variation on the ridge, where multiple fluid episodes with variable pH, salinity, and temperature altered the rocks, causing the precipitation and crystallization of phases that are not otherwise in equilibrium.

Published
2020

7. Diagenetic silica enrichment and late-stage groundwater activity in Gale crater, Mars

Author

Violaine Sautter, N. Mangold, Horton E. Newsom, Insoo Jun, Fred Calef, Candice Bedford, P. Edwards, William Rapin, R. Gellert, Kenneth S. Edgett, David T. Vaniman, Lucy M. Thompson, P. Y. Meslin, J. A. Watkins, Martin R. Fisk, Ryan B. Anderson, John Bridges, Melissa S. Rice, John P. Grotzinger, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Ralph E. Milliken, Nina Lanza, Patrick J. Gasda, Kjartan M. Kinch, Dawn Y. Sumner, B. C. Clark, Nathaniel Stein, David F. Blake, Morten Madsen, Sanjeev Gupta, Agnès Cousin, Ashwin R. Vasavada, Joel A. Hurowitz, I. G. Mitrofanov, Sylvestre Maurice, Jens Frydenvang, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Valerie Payre, Abigail A. Fraeman, Susanne P. Schwenzer, and J. Van Beek

Subjects
geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Earth science, Bedrock, Geochemistry, Mars Exploration Program, Structural basin, 01 natural sciences, Deposition (geology), Diagenesis, Geophysics, 13. Climate action, 0103 physical sciences, General Earth and Planetary Sciences, Aeolian processes, Sedimentary rock, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, Groundwater, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Diagenetic silica enrichment in fracture-associated halos that crosscut lacustrine and unconformably overlying aeolian sedimentary bedrock is observed on the lower north slope of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater, Mars. The diagenetic silica enrichment is colocated with detrital silica enrichment observed in the lacustrine bedrock yet extends into a considerably younger, unconformably draping aeolian sandstone, implying that diagenetic silica enrichment postdates the detrital silica enrichment. A causal connection between the detrital and diagenetic silica enrichment implies that water was present in the subsurface of Gale crater long after deposition of the lacustrine sediments and that it mobilized detrital amorphous silica and precipitated it along fractures in the overlying bedrock. Although absolute timing is uncertain, the observed diagenesis likely represents some of the most recent groundwater activity in Gale crater and suggests that the timescale of potential habitability extended considerably beyond the time that the lacustrine sediments of Aeolis Mons were deposited.

Published
2017
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8. Alkali trace elements in Gale crater, Mars, with ChemCam: Calibration update and geological implications

Author

Ann Ollila, Jérémie Lasue, Marion Nachon, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Olivier Forni, Olivier Gasnault, N. Mangold, Nina Lanza, Agnes Cousin, L. Le Deit, Violaine Sautter, P. Y. Meslin, Sylvestre Maurice, Valerie Payre, Cécile Fabre, and W. Rapin

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Calibration (statistics), Gale crater, Mineralogy, Weathering, Mars Exploration Program, Alkali metal, 01 natural sciences, Trace (semiology), Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Igneous differentiation, Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Published
2017
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9. Chemical alteration of fine-grained sedimentary rocks at Gale crater

Author

Roger C. Wiens, Thomas F. Bristow, C. Fedo, Erwin Dehouck, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Horton E. Newsom, Mark R. Salvatore, Cherie N. Achilles, Olivier Gasnault, Scott M. McLennan, Jonas L'Haridon, Olivier Forni, W. Rapin, P. Y. Meslin, Jens Frydenvang, Robert T. Downs, N. Mangold, L. Le Deit, Shaunna M. Morrison, Sylvestre Maurice, E. B. Rampe, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), 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), 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), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), Exobiology Branch [Moffett Field], NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Stony Brook University [SUNY] (SBU), State University of New York (SUNY), Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), NASA, ANR-16-CE31-0012,MARS-PRIME,Environnement Primitif de Mars(2016), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Geochemistry, Gale crater, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Weathering, engineering.material, Curiosity rover, 01 natural sciences, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], 0103 physical sciences, engineering, Plagioclase, Sedimentary rock, Mafic, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Bay, Dissolution, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

From Sol 750 to 1550, the Curiosity rover documented>100 m thick stack of fine-grained sedimentary rocks making up part of the Murray formation, at the base of Mt Sharp, Gale crater. Here, we use data collected by the ChemCam instrument to estimate the level of chemical weathering in these sedimentary rocks. Both the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) and the Weathering Index Scale (WIS) indicate a progressive increase in alteration up section, reaching values of CIA of 63 and WIS of 25%. The increase in CIA and WIS values is coupled with a decrease in calcium abundance, suggesting partial dissolution of Ca-bearing minerals (clinopyroxene and plagioclase). Mineralogy from the CheMin X-ray diffraction instrument indicates a decrease in mafic minerals compared with previously analyzed strata and a significant proportion of phyllosilicates consistent with this interpretation. These observations suggest that the sediments were predominantly altered in an open system, before or during their emplacement, contrasting with the rock-dominated conditions inferred in sedimentary deposits analyzed at Yellowknife Bay.

Published
2019
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10. ChemCam investigation of the John Klein and Cumberland drill holes and tailings, Gale crater, Mars

Author

Horton E. Newsom, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, P.-Y. Meslin, J. M. Williams, R. Jackson, Luther W. Beegle, D. T. Vaniman, S. Schröder, Agnès Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, and Samuel M. Clegg

Subjects
musculoskeletal diseases, Basalt, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Drill, education, Geochemistry, Mars, Mars Surface, Drilling, Sediment, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mars Exploration Program, equipment and supplies, 01 natural sciences, Tailings, Diagenesis, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, otorhinolaryngologic diseases, Experimental Techniques, Clay minerals, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

The ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory rover analyzed the rock surface, drill hole walls, tailings, and unprocessed and sieved dump piles to investigate chemical variations with depth in the first two martian drill holes and possible fractionation or segregation effects of the drilling and sample processing. The drill sites are both in Sheepbed Mudstone, the lowest exposed member of the Yellowknife Bay formation. Yellowknife Bay is composed of detrital basaltic materials in addition to clay minerals and an amorphous component. The drill tailings are a mixture of basaltic sediments and diagenetic material like calcium sulfate veins, while the shots on the drill site surface and walls of the drill holes are closer to those pure end members. The sediment dumped from the sample acquisition, processing, and handling subsystem is of similar composition to the tailings; however, due to the specifics of the drilling process the tailings and dump piles come from different depths within the hole. This allows the ChemCam instrument to analyze samples representing the bulk composition from different depths. On the pre-drill surfaces, the Cumberland site has a greater amount of CaO and evidence for calcium sulfate veins, than the John Klein site. However, John Klein has a greater amount of calcium sulfate veins below the surface, as seen in mapping, drill hole wall analysis, and observations in the drill tailings and dump pile. In addition, the Cumberland site does not have any evidence of variations in bulk composition with depth down the drill hole, while the John Klein site has evidence for a greater amount of CaO (calcium sulfates) in the top portion of the hole compared to the middle section of the hole, where the drill sample was collected.

Published
2016
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11. The potassic sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater, Mars, as seen by ChemCam on boardCuriosity

Author

Horton E. Newsom, Jérémie Lasue, K. M. Stack, Diana L. Blaney, Dawn Y. Sumner, Martin R. Fisk, William Rapin, S. Le Mouélic, Valerie Payre, Gilles Dromart, Scott M. McLennan, P. Y. Meslin, Allan H. Treiman, Olivier Gasnault, Ryan B. Anderson, Nina Lanza, Cécile Fabre, N. Mangold, Olivier Forni, Melissa S. Rice, S. Maurice, John P. Grotzinger, Susanne Schröder, Sanjeev Gupta, Violaine Sautter, Agnès Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, L. Le Deit, and Marion Nachon

Subjects
Basalt, Martian, Olivine, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Outcrop, Geochemistry, Crust, Mars Exploration Program, engineering.material, 01 natural sciences, On board, Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), engineering, Sedimentary rock, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Key Points: • Mean K2O abundance in sedimentary rocks >5 times higher than that of the average Martian crust • Presence of alkali feldspars and K-phyllosilicates in basaltic sedimentary rocks along the traverse • The K-bearing minerals likely have a detrital origin

Published
2016
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12. Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater

Author

P.-Y. Meslin, S. Le Mouélic, Juergen Schieber, Erwin Dehouck, Bernard Hallet, Horton E. Newsom, Nathaniel Stein, Ralf Gellert, Kirsten L. Siebach, Christopher H. House, Christopher M. Fedo, Jens Frydenvang, Agnes Cousin, Jeff A. Berger, Valerie Payre, Roger C. Wiens, N. Mangold, Sanjeev Gupta, Michelle E. Minitti, John P. Grotzinger, Olivier Forni, Lucy M. Thompson, Dawn Y. Sumner, Ashwin R. Vasavada, K. M. Stack, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Department of Geological Sciences [Bloomington], Indiana University [Bloomington], Indiana University System-Indiana University System, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), Arizona State University [Tempe] (ASU), Department of Physics and Materials Science & Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Department of Physics [Guelph], University of Guelph, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, 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), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), 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), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Université de Lorraine (UL), 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), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)

Subjects
Geochemistry & Geophysics, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, 04 Earth Sciences, Climate change, Gale crater, Geology, Mars Exploration Program, 15. Life on land, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, Paleontology, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, 13. Climate action, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Facies, Subaerial, Aeolian processes, Climate model, Desiccation, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

International audience; Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover data are used to describe the morphology of desiccation cracks observed in ancient lacustrine strata at Gale crater, Mars, and to interpret their paleoenvironmental setting. The desiccation cracks indicate subaerial exposure of lacustrine facies in the Sutton Island member of the Murray formation. In association with ripple cross-stratification and possible eolian cross-bedding, these facies indicate a transition from longer-lived perennial lakes recorded by older strata to younger lakes characterized by intermittent exposure. The transition from perennial to episodically exposed lacustrine environments provides evidence for local to regional climate change that can help constrain Mars climate models.

Published
2018
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13. Chemical variability in mineralized veins observed by ChemCam on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp in Gale crater, Mars

Author

Valerie Payre, Olivier Forni, Jonas L'Haridon, N. Mangold, Erwin Dehouck, Olivier Gasnault, Marion Nachon, Agnes Cousin, William Rapin, Sylvestre Maurice, Roger C. Wiens, L. Le Deit, Jeffrey R. Johnson, P.-Y. Meslin, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), 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), and ANR-16-CE31-0012,MARS-PRIME,Environnement Primitif de Mars(2016)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Outcrop, Geochemistry, Mars, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, 01 natural sciences, Diagenesis, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography, Plateau, geography.geographical_feature_category, Calcium sulfate, Gale crater, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Authigenic, Mars Exploration Program, 15. Life on land, Stratigraphy, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, ChemCam, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Groundwater, Geology
Abstract

ChemCam has observed a wide range of diagenetic features along the Curiosity rover traverse including pervasive Ca-sulfate veins. Observations by multiple instruments on Curiosity indicate that these veins are hydrated, formed during diagenetic fluid event(s). In this study, we delve into the chemical variability in these Ca-sulfate bearing veins and have identified two subsets in the Murray formation with enrichments in Fe and Fe + Mg. These chemical trends do not reflect a sampling mixture with the surrounding host rock but likely indicates the presence of authigenic phases formed during the emplacement of these veins. Based on passive reflectance spectral analysis and correlation with other elements, Fe3+ oxides and/or sulfates are proposed to account for the Fe-rich observations in the vicinity of the Naukluft Plateau whereas the Fe + Mg trend is also observed in adjacent dark-toned features with elevated Mn and P near the Old Soaker outcrop. The specific localization of these observations in the Gale stratigraphy implies changing pH and redox conditions in the groundwater at the time of formation of these veins, from oxidizing and likely more acidic near the Naukluft Plateau to more reducing conditions in the upper part of the Murray formation. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Published
2018
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14. Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam on board the Curiosity rover on Mars

Author

Horton E. Newsom, Fred Calef, Mariek E. Schmidt, Linda C. Kah, Gilles Dromart, Gilles Berger, James F. Bell, Jérémie Lasue, Cécile Fabre, Ryan B. Anderson, S. Le Mouélic, Nina Lanza, A. Mezzacappa, Olivier Forni, Ann Ollila, Sanjeev Gupta, Sylvestre Maurice, K. E. Herkenhoff, Olivier Gasnault, Agnes Cousin, Martin R. Fisk, Scott M. McLennan, Claude d’Uston, Eric Lewin, John Bridges, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Ralph E. Milliken, Susanne Schröder, B. L. Barraclough, John P. Grotzinger, Marion Nachon, Noureddine Melikechi, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Richard Leveille, Scott K. Rowland, K. M. Stack, Diana L. Blaney, P.-Y. Meslin, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Dawn Y. Sumner, D. T. Vaniman, Michael C. Malin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Lauren A. Edgar, B. C. Clark, N. Mangold, Violaine Sautter, Kenneth S. Edgett, Joel A. Hurowitz, 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), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), 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), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Remote Sensing Group (ISR-2), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley] (EPS), University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), United States Geological Survey [Reston] (USGS), Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), Arizona State University [Tempe] (ASU), Space Research Centre [Leicester], University of Leicester, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Science Institute [Boulder] (SSI), GeoRessources, Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre de recherches sur la géologie des matières premières minérales et énergétiques (CREGU)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences [Corvallis] (CEOAS), Oregon State University (OSU), Department of Earth Science and Technology [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Department of Geosciences [Stony Brook], Stony Brook University [SUNY] (SBU), State University of New York (SUNY)-State University of New York (SUNY), College of Marine and Environmental Sciences [Cairns], James Cook University (JCU), C2O Consulting, 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), State University of New York (SUNY), Optical Science Center for Applied Research (OSCAR), Delaware State University (DSU), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Science [Notre Dame] (CEEES), University of Notre Dame [Indiana] (UND), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences [Albuquerque] (EPS), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Institut für Umweltphysik [Heidelberg], Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg] = Heidelberg University, ICG-2, Centre d'étude spatiale des rayonnements (CESR), Centre for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), Macquarie University, Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Laboratoire de Photophysique et Photochimie Supramoléculaires et Macromoléculaires (PPSM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Cachan (ENS Cachan), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena], Department of Physics and Materials Science & Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Astrogeology Science Center [Flagstaff], Centre for Infection and Immunity, Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-PRES Université de Grenoble-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-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry]), University of Hawaii, Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (IMPMC), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR206-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre de recherches sur la géologie des matières premières minérales et énergétiques (CREGU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg], Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and 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)

Subjects
LIBS, Outcrop, Earth science, sediments, Geochemistry, Mars, [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences, Mars Exploration Program, Gale crater, Diagenesis, Sedimentary depositional environment, Geophysics, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], ChemCam, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Stratigraphic section, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Sedimentary rock, Lithification, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Geology, Stratigraphic column
Abstract

International audience; The Yellowknife Bay formation represents a similar to 5m thick stratigraphic section of lithified fluvial and lacustrine sediments analyzed by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars. Previous works have mainly focused on the mudstones that were drilled by the rover at two locations. The present study focuses on the sedimentary rocks stratigraphically above the mudstones by studying their chemical variations in parallel with rock textures. Results show that differences in composition correlate with textures and both manifest subtle but significant variations through the stratigraphic column. Though the chemistry of the sediments does not vary much in the lower part of the stratigraphy, the variations in alkali elements indicate variations in the source material and/or physical sorting, as shown by the identification of alkali feldspars. The sandstones contain similar relative proportions of hydrogen to the mudstones below, suggesting the presence of hydrous minerals that may have contributed to their cementation. Slight variations in magnesium correlate with changes in textures suggesting that diagenesis through cementation and dissolution modified the initial rock composition and texture simultaneously. The upper part of the stratigraphy (similar to 1m thick) displays rocks with different compositions suggesting a strong change in the depositional system. The presence of float rocks with similar compositions found along the rover traverse suggests that some of these outcrops extend further away in the nearby hummocky plains.

Published
2015
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15. Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High dunes, Bagnold dune field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations

Author

Victoria E. Hamilton, Albert S. Yen, Pamela G. Conrad, R. Gellert, D. W. Ming, Ashwin R. Vasavada, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Scott K. Rowland, Abigail A. Fraeman, Roger C. Wiens, David F. Blake, Kenneth S. Edgett, Jeffrey R. Johnson, C. D. O'Connell-Cooper, P.-Y. Meslin, D. T. Vaniman, Danika Wellington, Ryan C. Sullivan, Michelle E. Minitti, Kirsten L. Siebach, Nathaniel Stein, Agnes Cousin, Sylvestre Maurice, Robert T. Downs, Nathan T. Bridges, Cherie N. Achilles, Stephen Kuhn, Craig Hardgrove, Lucy M. Thompson, Travis Gabriel, Paul R. Mahaffy, M. L. Litvak, Susanne Schröder, R. V. Morris, J. M. Morookian, Raymond E. Arvidson, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Patrick Pinet, Brad Sutter, M. McHenry, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), and Services communs OMP (UMS 831)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Namib, 01 natural sciences, Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Research Articles, Martian, grain size, Mars Science Laboratory, Investigations of the Bagnold Dune Field, Gale crater, Mars Exploration Program, Mineralogy, Physical Properties of Materials, Grain size, Planetary Mineralogy and Petrology, Chemistry, Geophysics, volatiles, Aeolian processes, Erosion and Weathering, dust, Geology, Composition, Research Article, Dunes, Surface Materials and Properties, Bedform, Mars, engineering.material, Planetary Geochemistry, amorphous phase, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Rover, Plagioclase, MSL, Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets, Mineralogy and Petrology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Olivine, Mars soils, Bagnold, Geochemistry, sand dunes, Curiosity, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Rocknest, engineering
Abstract

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed coordinated measurements to examine the textures and compositions of aeolian sands in the active Bagnold dune field. The Bagnold sands are rounded to subrounded, very fine to medium sized (~45–500 μm) with ≥6 distinct grain colors. In contrast to sands examined by Curiosity in a dust‐covered, inactive bedform called Rocknest and soils at other landing sites, Bagnold sands are darker, less red, better sorted, have fewer silt‐sized or smaller grains, and show no evidence for cohesion. Nevertheless, Bagnold mineralogy and Rocknest mineralogy are similar with plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxenes in similar proportions comprising >90% of crystalline phases, along with a substantial amorphous component (35% ± 15%). Yet Bagnold and Rocknest bulk chemistry differ. Bagnold sands are Si enriched relative to other soils at Gale crater, and H2O, S, and Cl are lower relative to all previously measured Martian soils and most Gale crater rocks. Mg, Ni, Fe, and Mn are enriched in the coarse‐sieved fraction of Bagnold sands, corroborated by visible/near‐infrared spectra that suggest enrichment of olivine. Collectively, patterns in major element chemistry and volatile release data indicate two distinctive volatile reservoirs in Martian soils: (1) amorphous components in the sand‐sized fraction (represented by Bagnold) that are Si‐enriched, hydroxylated alteration products and/or H2O‐ or OH‐bearing impact or volcanic glasses and (2) amorphous components in the fine fraction (, Key Points Because of ongoing aeolian activity, the Bagnold dunes consist of well‐sorted sands and lack the finer grains typical of Martian soilsDune sands are chemically distinct with elevated Si, Mg, and Ni and lower H2O, S, and Cl relative to all previously measured Martian finesTwo distinct, water‐/OH‐bearing amorphous components are identified: Fe‐, S‐, and Cl‐rich material in dust and Si‐rich material in the sands

Published
2017
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16. Calcium sulfate veins characterized by ChemCam/Curiosity at Gale crater, Mars

Author

William Rapin, P. Y. Meslin, Dawn Y. Sumner, Ryan B. Anderson, John Bridges, Olivier Forni, Susanne Schröder, Marion Nachon, Richard Leveille, M. D. Dyar, S. Le Mouélic, Linda C. Kah, Sylvestre Maurice, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Agnes Cousin, Melissa S. Rice, James F. Bell, Ann Ollila, S. W. Squyres, Scott M. McLennan, K. Stack, Dorothy Z. Oehler, Danika Wellington, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Olivier Gasnault, John P. Grotzinger, Eric Lewin, Jeffrey R. Johnson, David T. Vaniman, Diana L. Blaney, Jérémie Lasue, N. Mangold, B. C. Clark, Gilles Dromart, and Cécile Fabre

Subjects
Anhydrite, Gypsum, Fracture (mineralogy), Mineralogy, Fluvial, engineering.material, Cementation (geology), chemistry.chemical_compound, Geophysics, Bassanite, chemistry, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), engineering, Sedimentary rock, Lithification, Geology
Abstract

The Curiosity rover has analyzed abundant light-toned fracture-fill material within the Yellowknife Bay sedimentary deposits. The ChemCam instrument, coupled with Mastcam and ChemCam/Remote Micro Imager images, was able to demonstrate that these fracture fills consist of calcium sulfate veins, many of which appear to be hydrated at a level expected for gypsum and bassanite. Anhydrite is locally present and is found in a location characterized by a nodular texture. An intricate assemblage of veins crosses the sediments, which were likely formed by precipitation from fluids circulating through fractures. The presence of veins throughout the entire similar to 5 m thick Yellowknife Bay sediments suggests that this process occurred well after sedimentation and cementation/lithification of those sediments. The sulfur-rich fluids may have originated in previously precipitated sulfate-rich layers, either before the deposition of the Sheepbed mudstones or from unrelated units such as the sulfates at the base of Mount Sharp. The occurrence of these veins after the episodes of deposition of fluvial sediments at the surface suggests persistent aqueous activity in relatively nonacidic conditions.

Published
2014
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17. Chemistry and texture of the rocks at Rocknest, Gale Crater: Evidence for sedimentary origin and diagenetic alteration

Author

Olivier Forni, Martin R. Fisk, S. Schroder, Penelope L. King, K. M. Stack, Diana L. Blaney, Ann Ollila, Agnes Cousin, Nathan T. Bridges, Lauren A. Edgar, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Linda C. Kah, P. Y. Meslin, B. C. Clark, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Horton E. Newsom, N. Mangold, Dawn Y. Sumner, Scott K. Rowland, Olivier Gasnault, Gilles Berger, John Bridges, Walter Goetz, Nina Lanza, M. D. Dyar, S. Le Mouélic, R. L. Tokar, Morten Madsen, Sylvestre Maurice, Mariek E. Schmidt, and Ryan B. Anderson

Subjects
Mineralogy, Martian soil, Diagenesis, Igneous rock, Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Rocknest, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Sedimentary rock, Layering, Lithification, Geology, Rock microstructure
Abstract

A suite of eight rocks analyzed by the Curiosity Rover while it was stopped at the Rocknest sand ripple shows the greatest chemical divergence of any potentially sedimentary rocks analyzed in the early part of the mission. Relative to average Martian soil and to the stratigraphically lower units encountered as part of the Yellowknife Bay formation, these rocks are significantly depleted in MgO, with a mean of 1.3 wt %, and high in Fe, averaging over 20 wt % FeO_T, with values between 15 and 26 wt % FeO_T. The variable iron and low magnesium and rock texture make it unlikely that these are igneous rocks. Rock surface textures range from rough to smooth, can be pitted or grooved, and show various degrees of wind erosion. Some rocks display poorly defined layering while others seem to show possible fractures. Narrow vertical voids are present in Rocknest 3, one of the rocks showing the strongest layering. Rocks in the vicinity of Rocknest may have undergone some diagenesis similar to other rocks in the Yellowknife Bay Formation as indicated by the presence of soluble calcium phases. The most reasonable scenario is that fine-grained sediments, potentially a mixture of feldspar-rich rocks from Bradbury Rise and normal Martian soil, were lithified together by an iron-rich cement.

Published
2014
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18. Igneous mineralogy at Bradbury Rise: The first ChemCam campaign at Gale crater

Author

Roger C. Wiens, Ruth A. Anderson, Gilles Berger, S. Le Mouélic, Olivier Forni, Ann Ollila, B. C. Clark, Michael J. Toplis, N. Mangold, John Bridges, V. Sautter, D. Dyar, Eric Lewin, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Agnes Cousin, Patrick Pinet, Jérémie Lasue, P.-Y. Meslin, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, David Baratoux, Mariek E. Schmidt, and Cécile Fabre

Subjects
Basalt, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Andesine, Lithology, Geochemistry, Mineralogy, engineering.material, Feldspar, 01 natural sciences, Porphyritic, Igneous rock, Anorthosite, Geophysics, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, visual_art, Pumice, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), visual_art.visual_art_medium, engineering, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Textural and compositional analyses using Chemistry Camera (ChemCam) remote microimager and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) have been performed on five float rocks and coarse gravels along the first 100 m of the Curiosity traverse at Bradbury Rise. ChemCam, the first LIBS instrument sent to another planet, offers the opportunity to assess mineralogic diversity at grain-size scales (~ 100 µm) and, from this, lithologic diversity. Depth profiling indicates that targets are relatively free of surface coatings. One type of igneous rock is volcanic and includes both aphanitic (Coronation) and porphyritic (Mara) samples. The porphyritic sample shows dark grains that are likely pyroxene megacrysts in a fine-grained mesostasis containing andesine needles. Both types have magnesium-poor basaltic compositions and in this respect are similar to the evolved Jake Matijevic rock analyzed further along the Curiosity traverse both with Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer and ChemCam instruments. The second rock type encountered is a coarse-grained intrusive rock (Thor Lake) showing equigranular texture with millimeter size crystals of feldspars and Fe-Ti oxides. Such a rock is not unique at Gale as the surrounding coarse gravels (such as Beaulieu) and the conglomerate Link are dominated by feldspathic (andesine-bytownite) clasts. Finally, alkali feldspar compositions associated with a silica polymorph have been analyzed in fractured filling material of Preble rock and in Stark, a putative pumice or an impact melt. These observations document magmatic diversity at Gale and describe the first fragments of feldspar-rich lithologies (possibly an anorthosite) that may be ancient crust transported from the crater rim and now forming float rocks, coarse gravel, or conglomerate clasts.

Published
2014
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19. Composition of conglomerates analyzed by the Curiosity rover: Implications for Gale Crater crust and sediment sources

Author

Sylvestre Maurice, Cécile Fabre, Nicolas Mangold, Martin R. Fisk, Fred Calef, William Rapin, R. Gellert, Amy J. Williams, Olivier Gasnault, Gilles Dromart, Dawn Y. Sumner, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Rebecca M. E. Williams, P.-Y. Meslin, S. Le Mouélic, Marisa C. Palucis, Kirsten L. Siebach, Agnes Cousin, Lucy M. Thompson, K. M. Stack, Diana L. Blaney, William E. Dietrich, L. Le Deit, Ryan B. Anderson, Olivier Forni, John P. Grotzinger, A. Yingst, H. E. Newsom, Kenneth S. Edgett, Violaine Sautter, Linda C. Kah, Scott M. McLennan, 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), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), DLR Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), Oregon State University (OSU), Department of Physics [Guelph], University of Guelph, California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Stony Brook University [SUNY] (SBU), State University of New York (SUNY), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley] (EPS), University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, 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), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena], University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California, Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR206-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), 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), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), University of California (UC), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Earth science, Geochemistry, sedimentary rocks, Mars, Igneous textures, 01 natural sciences, Conglomerate, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Felsic, fluvial, Crust, Gale Crater, Diagenesis, Igneous rock, Geophysics, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Clastic rock, Sedimentary rock, Geology
Abstract

International audience; The Curiosity rover has analyzed various detrital sedimentary rocks at Gale Crater, among which fluvial and lacustrine rocks are predominant. Conglomerates correspond both to the coarsest sediments analyzed and the least modified by chemical alteration, enabling us to link their chemistry to that of source rocks on the Gale Crater rims. In this study, we report the results of six conglomerate targets analyzed by Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer and 40 analyzed by ChemCam. The bulk chemistry derived by both instruments suggests two distinct end-members for the conglomerate compositions. The first group (Darwin type) is typical of conglomerates analyzed before sol 540; it has a felsic alkali-rich composition, with a Na2O/K2O\textgreater5. The second group (Kimberley type) is typical of conglomerates analyzed between sols 540 and 670 in the vicinity of the Kimberley waypoint; it has an alkali-rich potassic composition with Na2O/K2O\textless2. The variety of chemistry and igneous textures (when identifiable) of individual clasts suggest that each conglomerate type is a mixture of multiple source rocks. Conglomerate compositions are in agreement with most of the felsic alkali-rich float rock compositions analyzed in the hummocky plains. The average composition of conglomerates can be taken as a proxy of the average igneous crust composition at Gale Crater. Differences between the composition of conglomerates and that of finer-grained detrital sediments analyzed by the rover suggest modifications by diagenetic processes (especially for Mg enrichments in fine-grained rocks), physical sorting, and mixing with finer-grained material of different composition.

Published
2016
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20. Hydration state of calcium sulfates in Gale crater, Mars: Identification of bassanite veins

Author

P.-Y. Meslin, Sylvestre Maurice, William Rapin, Violaine Sautter, D. Archer, D. T. Vaniman, Olivier Gasnault, Jérémie Lasue, Roger C. Wiens, Agnes Cousin, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Marion Nachon, Olivier Forni, N. Mangold, Susanne Schröder, German Martinez, 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), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (IMPMC), and 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)

Subjects
Gypsum, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Hydrogen, Geochemistry, Mineralogy, chemistry.chemical_element, Mars, bassanite, Calcium, engineering.material, 01 natural sciences, calcium sulfate, chemistry.chemical_compound, Bassanite, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), medicine, Dehydration, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Martian, Anhydrite, LIBS, Mars Exploration Program, medicine.disease, Geophysics, chemistry, Space and Planetary Science, ChemCam, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], hydrogen, engineering, Geology
Abstract

International audience; In-situ analyses reveal the presence of hydrogen within calcium sulfate veins crosscutting the sediments found in Gale crater. Laboratory experiments were performed to calibrate the hydrogen signal measured by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in a range applicable to martian data. The analyses indicate that all veins targeted so far at Gale consist predominantly of bassanite which most likely formed by dehydration of gypsum. This scenario suggests that the percolating water produced gypsum, possibly by hydration of anhydrite in aqueous solution, and remained at temperatures below ∼60 °C at that time. Desiccating conditions followed, consistent with a hyperarid climate and favored by burial or impacts. Additionally, anhydrite with lesser bassanite has been found by XRD in samples of sediments hosting the veins. Our result suggests bassanite is likely found in the veins and anhydrite may be more common as a fine-grained component within the sediments.

Published
2016
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22. In situ evidence for continental crust on early Mars

Author

David T. Vaniman, Edward M. Stolper, Olivier Forni, Jérémie Lasue, Nicolas Mangold, H. E. Newsom, James J. Wray, John Bridges, S. Le Mouélic, William Rapin, L. Le Deit, Sylvestre Maurice, Agnes Cousin, Cécile Fabre, P. Y. Meslin, Patrick Pinet, Olivier Gasnault, Ann Ollila, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, V. Sautter, Pierre Beck, Nina Lanza, D. Dyar, Martin R. Fisk, M. Toplis, Museum Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), GeoRessources, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre de recherches sur la géologie des matières premières minérales et énergétiques (CREGU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Chevron Energy Technology Company, Space Research Centre [Leicester], University of Leicester, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences [Corvallis] (CEOAS), Oregon State University (OSU), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences [Albuquerque] (EPS), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Mount Holyoke College, Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Georgia Institute of Technology [Atlanta], Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (IMPMC), Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR206-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Dynamique terrestre et planétaire (DTP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Technologies et systèmes d'information pour les agrosystèmes (UR TSCF), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), DLR Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena], Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR206-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG ), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 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), 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), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre de recherches sur la géologie des matières premières minérales et énergétiques (CREGU)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and 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)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-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)

Subjects
Basalt, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Continental crust, Volcanology, [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences, Crust, 15. Life on land, 01 natural sciences, Diorite, Porphyritic, Igneous rock, Paleontology, Geochemistry, Meteorite, 13. Climate action, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Inner planets, 0103 physical sciences, Magmatism, General Earth and Planetary Sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Petrology
Abstract

International audience; Understanding of the geologic evolution of Mars has been greatly improved by recent orbital(1-3), in situ(4,5) and meteorite(6-8) data, but insights into the earliest period of Martian magmatism (4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago) remain scarce(9). The landing site of NASA's Curiosity rover, Gale crater, which formed 3.61 billion years ago(10) within older terrain(11), provides a window into this earliest igneous history. Along its traverse, Curiosity has discovered light-toned rocks that contrast with basaltic samples found in younger regions(12). Here we present geochemical data and images of 22 specimens analysed by Curiosity that demonstrate that these light-toned materials are feldspar-rich magmatic rocks. The rocks belong to two distinct geochemical types: alkaline compositions containing up to 67 wt% SiO2 and 14 wt% total alkalis (Na2O + K2O) with fine-grained to porphyritic textures on the one hand, and coarser-grained textures consistent with quartz diorite and granodiorite on the other hand. Our analysis reveals unexpected magmatic diversity and the widespread presence of silica- and feldspar-rich materials in the vicinity of the landing site at Gale crater. Combined with the identification of feldspar-rich rocks elsewhere(9,13,14) and the low average density of the crust in the Martian southern hemisphere(15), we conclude that silica-rich magmatic rocks may constitute a significant fraction of ancient Martian crust and may be analogous to the earliest continental crust on Earth.

Published
2015
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23. Hydrogen detection with ChemCam at Gale crater

Author

P.-Y. Meslin, Violaine Sautter, Jeffrey R. Johnson, William Rapin, N. Mangold, M. D. Dyar, S. Le Mouélic, Patrick Pinet, Olivier Forni, Sylvestre Maurice, Susanne Schröder, Ann Ollila, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Olivier Gasnault, Marion Nachon, D. T. Vaniman, Jérémie Lasue, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts System (UMASS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Technologies et systèmes d'information pour les agrosystèmes (UR TSCF), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (IMPMC), Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR206-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 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), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, and 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)

Subjects
Felsic, Hydrogen, chemistry.chemical_element, Mineralogy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Context (language use), Mars Exploration Program, Astrobiology, Diagenesis, Atmosphere, chemistry, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Mafic, Spectroscopy, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract

One of the main advantages of ChemCam’s LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) instrument onboard the Curiosity rover is its potential to detect light elements such as hydrogen at fine scales, which has never been achieved on Mars. Hydrogen lines are detected in most of the data obtained within the first 320 sols of the mission at Gale crater, Mars. This work is a description of the hydrogen signal and its variability in the ChemCam LIBS spectra; it discusses the challenges of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Data acquisition and processing steps are investigated and optimized for the detection of hydrogen on Mars. Subtraction of an appropriate dark spectrum and the deconvolution of the superimposed emission of carbon from the low-pressure CO2-dominated atmosphere are particularly important. Because the intensities of hydrogen are also affected by matrix effects, the hydrogen signal was investigated within groups of targets sharing common chemical features and similar matrices. The different groups cover a variety of rock and soil compositions encountered along the traverse (calcium sulfate veins, mafic soils, felsic, Mg-rich and Fe-rich rocks) including data from both drill holes and their tailings. Almost all these targets were found to be hydrated to variable extents. Soils have systematically higher hydrogen signals than rocks and pebbles, probably as a result of their alteration. The results from rocks suggest that various alteration processes leading to their hydration have taken place, which is consistent with the fluvial lacustrine context, the diagenetic features, and the mineralogy observed by Curiosity in Yellowknife Bay.

Published
2015
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24. The rock abrasion record at Gale Crater: Mars Science Laboratory results from Bradbury Landing to Rocknest

Author

Fred Calef, R. A. Yingst, Nina Lanza, Yves Langevin, K. E. Herkenhoff, P. Y. Meslin, Roger C. Wiens, Diana L. Blaney, Sylvestre Maurice, Nilton O. Renno, Claire E. Newman, M. E. Richardson, Melissa S. Rice, M. A. de Pablo, Bernard Hallet, Violaine Sautter, Nathan T. Bridges, Gary Kocurek, R. S. Sletten, N. Mangold, Patrick Pinet, S. Le Mouélic, Kevin W. Lewis, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], United States Geological Survey [Reston] (USGS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 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), Ashima Research, Universidad de Alcalá - University of Alcalá (UAH), Department of Geological Sciences [Austin], Jackson School of Geosciences (JSG), University of Texas at Austin [Austin]-University of Texas at Austin [Austin], Institute d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Sud, Department of Geosciences [Princeton], Princeton University, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences [Michigan], Central Michigan University (CMU), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena], California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Lab Mineral and Cosmochim Museum, Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), 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), and 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)

Subjects
Outcrop, Ventifact, Gale crater, Mars Exploration Program, Abrasion (geology), Lineation, Geophysics, Bradbury Landing, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Rocknest, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Geomorphology, Geology
Abstract

International audience; Ventifacts, rocks abraded by wind-borne particles, are found in Gale Crater, Mars. In the eastwarddrive from “Bradbury Landing” to “Rocknest,” they account for about half of the float and outcrop seen byCuriosity’s cameras. Many are faceted and exhibit abrasion textures found at a range of scales, fromsubmillimeter lineations to centimeter-scale facets, scallops, flutes, and grooves. The drive path geometryin the first 100 sols of the mission emphasized the identification of abrasion facets and textures formedby westerly flow. This upwind direction is inconsistent with predictions based on models and the orientationof regional dunes, suggesting that these ventifact features formed from very rare high-speed winds. Theabsence of active sand and evidence for deflation in the area indicates that most of the ventifacts are fossilfeatures experiencing little abrasion today.

Published
2014
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25. The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Science Objectives and Mast Unit Description

Author

Yves Langevin, Muriel Saccoccio, E. Kan, Patrick Pinet, V. Sautter, Eric Lewin, John J. Simmonds, Franck Poitrasson, R. Perez, Jérémie Lasue, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, M. Lescure, Horton E. Newsom, Alain Gaboriaud, David A. Cremers, B. Faure, Bruno Dubois, B. L. Barraclough, Gilles Berger, Béatrice Sallé, Christophe Sotin, S. Le Mouélic, C. Derycke, Ph. Cais, David T. Vaniman, H. Seran, J. J. Thocaven, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, L. Parès, Lauren DeFlores, S. Bender, Edward A. Miller, T. Gharsa, Cécile Fabre, M. Dupieux, P. Y. Meslin, Yann Parot, C. P. McKay, Olivier Forni, Diana L. Blaney, Driss Kouach, B. Dingler, Michel Berthé, Patrick Mauchien, Gérard Manhès, Alexis Paillet, E. Durand, Jean-Luc Lacour, B. Quertier, Gilles Dromart, G. Orttner, Jean-Baptiste Sirven, R. Stiglich, Daniel Limonadi, L. E. Kirkland, N. Striebig, Alain Cros, B. C. Clark, Agnès Cousin, L. C. d'Uston, Michael J. Toplis, John D. Bernardin, Nicolas Mangold, M. Bouyé, Sylvestre Maurice, Nathan T. Bridges, Y. Michel, Olivier Gasnault, David Baratoux, Centre d'étude spatiale des rayonnements (CESR), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 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), Services communs OMP (UMS 831), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), FORMATION STELLAIRE 2012, Laboratoire d'astrodynamique, d'astrophysique et d'aéronomie de bordeaux (L3AB), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] (LAB), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Bordeaux (UB), Lockheed Martin Corporation, Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-IPG PARIS-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Interaction Laser Matière (LILM), Département de Physico-Chimie (DPC), CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire) (CEA-DES (ex-DEN)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay-CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire) (CEA-DES (ex-DEN)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Hautes Energies (LPTHE), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), 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), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] (LAB), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)

Subjects
Optical fiber, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Chemical composition, Mars, Field of view, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Telescope, Optics, law, 0103 physical sciences, Planetary surfaces, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Spectroscopy, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Remote sensing, LIBS, Pixel, Spectrometer, business.industry, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mars Exploration Program, Laser, Space and Planetary Science, Rocknest, business, Instruments, Geology
Abstract

International audience; ChemCam is a remote sensing instrument suite on board the "Curiosity" rover (NASA) that uses Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to provide the elemental composition of soils and rocks at the surface of Mars from a distance of 1.3 to 7 m, and a telescopic imager to return high resolution context and micro-images at distances greater than 1.16 m. We describe five analytical capabilities: rock classification, quantitative composition, depth profiling, context imaging, and passive spectroscopy. They serve as a toolbox to address most of the science questions at Gale crater. ChemCam consists of a Mast-Unit (laser, telescope, camera, and electronics) and a Body-Unit (spectrometers, digital processing unit, and optical demultiplexer), which are connected by an optical fiber and an electrical interface. We then report on the development, integration, and testing of the Mast-Unit, and summarize some key characteristics of ChemCam. This confirmed that nominal or better than nominal performances were achieved for critical parameters, in particular power density (>1 GW/cm2). The analysis spot diameter varies from 350 μm at 2 m to 550 μm at 7 m distance. For remote imaging, the camera field of view is 20 mrad for 1024×1024 pixels. Field tests demonstrated that the resolution (˜90 μrad) made it possible to identify laser shots on a wide variety of images. This is sufficient for visualizing laser shot pits and textures of rocks and soils. An auto-exposure capability optimizes the dynamical range of the images. Dedicated hardware and software focus the telescope, with precision that is appropriate for the LIBS and imaging depths-of-field. The light emitted by the plasma is collected and sent to the Body-Unit via a 6 m optical fiber. The companion to this paper (Wiens et al. this issue) reports on the development of the Body-Unit, on the analysis of the emitted light, and on the good match between instrument performance and science specifications.

Published
2012
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