Reflectance spectroscopy of palagonite and iron-rich montmorillonite clay mixtures: Implications for the surface composition of Mars

Abstract

Mixtures of a Hawaiian palagonite and an iron-rich, montmorillonite clay (15.8 ± 0.4 wt% Fe as Fe 2O 3) were evaluated as Mars surface spectral analogs from their diffuse reflectance spectra. The presence of the 2.2-μm absorption band in the reflectance spectrum of clays and its absence in the Mars spectrum have been interpreted as indicating that highly crystalline aluminous hydroxylated clays cannot be a major mineral component of the soil on Mars. The palagonite sample used in this study does not show this absorption feature in its spectrum. In mixtures of palagonite and iron-rich montmorillonite, the 2.2-μm AlOH clay lattice band is not seen below 15 wt% montmorillonite. This suggests the possibility that iron-rich montmorillonite clay may be present in the soil of Mars at up to 15 wt% in combination with palagonite, and remain undetected in remotely sensed spectra of Mars.