Nili Fossae Research Articles

Refining the age, emplacement and alteration scenarios of the olivine-rich unit in the Nili Fossae region, Mars

The Nili Fossae region of Mars exhibits from remote sensing spectral data the largest exposures of olivine-rich materials on the planet. However, it is not clearly constrained how and when these terrains formed. Some of the proposed scenarios favor a mode of formation closely related to Isidis impact basin: either under intense effusive volcanism following the impact, from cooling of an immediate impact melt sheet or silicate impact vapor condensate. These deposits might also be pyroclastic products ejected from now eroded or buried vents. Recent studies also proposed that lag deposits could be responsible for enrichment in olivine after deposition. In this contribution, we mapped the olivine-rich unaltered and altered bedrock exposures using near infrared and thermal inertia data, investigated the geometry and key contacts of the olivine-rich unit, and determined its surface age using crater counts and stratigraphical relationships. We find that the olivine-rich bedrock extends over at least ~18,000 km2 in the Nili Fossae region, with a large part of it being unaltered. Olivine-rich material that overlaps the northern rim of Jezero crater corresponds to a primary deposit (i.e. rather than reworked material). Since this crater is younger than Isidis, we favor the hypothesis of a post-Isidis origin, rather than the impact melt (consistently with Bramble et al., 2017) and impact condensate origin. Based on our observations and crater counts, we estimate an emplacement age of 3.82 ± 0.07 Ga (Mid to Late Noachian). We discuss the origin of the unit, with the most likely scenarios being ash falls and/or pyroclastic surges. To explain the circum-Isidis distribution of these deposits, we favor the hypothesis of a thinned and weakened crust in the region subsequently to the giant impact of Isidis, as suggested by Tornabene et al. (2008). Finally, the distribution of altered bedrock conflicts with the contact metamorphism scenario. As the olivine-rich unit exposed at Jezero crater, future home of the Mars 2020 rover, is a regional stratigraphic marker, return samples for precise dating of this unit should be made one of the major mission targets.

Abundance and composition of kaolinite on Mars: Information from NIR spectra of rocks from acid-alteration environments, Riotinto, SE Spain

Investigation of Earth analogs and their environments is crucial for the full interpretation of geologic outcrops and processes on Mars. Phyllosilicates are important indicators of aqueous processes and their characterization is a significant piece of the geologic puzzle of Mars. They are chiefly investigated with Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy from orbit. While these studies have revolutionized our understanding of aqueous processes on Mars, they are challenged by the chemical and structural complexity of phyllosilicates, non-linear response to mineral abundance, low penetration of infrared radiation in the target rocks, and spectral modifications caused by rock texture. Phyllosilicate-bearing samples from four locations in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (El Villar, Calañas, Quebrantahuesos, and Tharsis) were investigated using NIR, XRD and thermogravimetry in order to document the effects of acidic alteration under multiple environments and inform orbital detections on Mars. The samples are comprised of chlorite, illite, kaolinite, alunite, jarosite, goethite and interstratified chlorite-vermiculite and kaolinite-smectite. Kaolinite dominates the spectral signature relative to other phyllosilicates from abundances as low as 7 wt%. Only alunite and jarosite display spectral intensities similar to kaolinite. NIR spectra of bulk rock and <2 μm size fractions are very similar, indicating that spectra are dominated by the smaller particles. The octahedral Al-Fe-Mg composition of illite and kaolinite determine the positions of their OH combination band (~2.21 μm), commonly used for phyllosilicate characterization. The range of wavelength variation is narrower for kaolinite-dominated spectra, 2.205–2.216 μm, but wider than the spectral resolution of the orbital probe CRISM (~0.007 μm). Thus, in favorable conditions CRISM spectra can identify variations of kaolinite octahedral composition, a valuable tool to investigate kaolinite origin. A survey of kaolinite-bearing spectra from Mars (Leighton Crater, Mawrth Vallis and Nili Fossae regions) showed that most OH combination bands are within 2.205–2.212 μm. One spectrum displayed this band at 2.215–2.219 μm, and is a good candidate for kaolinite with significant Fe/Mg-substitution.

A methodology for quantitative analysis of hydrated minerals on Mars with large endmember library using CRISM near-infrared data

Hydrated minerals are good indicators of aqueous environments on Mars. Accurate mineral species identification and quantitative estimation of their abundance is very important for understanding past and present geologic and climatic processes of Mars. We present a novel methodology to analyze hydrated minerals using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) data. The methodology is driven by a sparse unmixing model, which can select the optimal subset of signatures from a large endmember library to best model mixed spectra. Laboratory measured spectra of minerals and rocks, scene-derived spectra of common components such as dust and synthetic flat and pure slope spectra are used to populate an endmember library. CRISM and the endmember library reflectance spectra are converted to single-scattering albedo with the Hapke radiative transfer model. The single-scattering albedos of the CRISM and endmember library spectra are then L1 normalized to eliminate the effects of the different measurement conditions between laboratory and orbital data. The sparse unmixing algorithm is finally applied to CRISM normalized single-scattering albedo data using the spectral library. Mineral identification and quantitative analysis are accomplished at the same time. The methodology shows good performance in synthetic and laboratory mineral mixture suites. Examples of six CRISM targeted mode images in three locations (Nili Fossae, Northeast Syrtis Major and Kashira crater), which have been previously thoroughly studied, were analyzed in detail in this study. In comparison with previous studies, our methodology identifies the mineral deposits detected through more manually intensive methods by expert analysts while simultaneously determining the mineral abundances. Furthermore, this new method provides an objective pathway to the determination of mineral presence from a large library of potential options. As an example of unexpected results, we detected putative serpentine in the Nili Fossae images for the first time. Even though the typical diagnostic spectral features used to identify minerals directly from CRISM data are obscured due to the mixing among mineral phases, T-test analyses of serpentine abundance provide critical statistical proof of its presence. Overall, the methodology we present works well for hydrated mineral detection with CRISM data and could provide a rigorous, objective method to map mineralogy in planetary hyperspectral remotely sensed data.

The formation of irregular polygonal ridge networks, Nili Fossae, Mars: Implications for extensive subsurface channelized fluid flow in the Noachian

Roughly 16,000, ∼20–50 m wide, morphologically diverse, erosionally resistant ridges have been exhumed and mapped in Noachian-aged terrain across a large region in Nili Fossae and the Nilosyrtis Highlands. However, the formation of these landforms has been widely debated. Their morphology and geologic context suggest surface processes such as aeolian, fluvial, and glacial sedimentary deposition are unlikely candidates for their formation. Possible subsurface ridge formation mechanisms include: 1) volcanic dike intrusions along pre-existing fractures, 2) breccia dikes from impact cratering, 3) clastic dikes or deformation bands, and 4) chemical alteration or precipitation of minerals in or along pre-existing fractures or faults. The ridges are being exhumed from a phyllosilicate-bearing host rock, but whether the ridges themselves have an aqueous origin remains unknown. Although, previous studies used comparative morphology to assess their formation, each hypothesized formation mechanism implies different mineralogical suites possibly detectable in remotely sensed spectral data.Here we combine spectral and morphological analyses to assess the origin of a subset of ridges (n = 797) that have irregular polygonal ridge network morphology. We use observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), supplemented with Context Camera (CTX) imagery, to analyze the spectral signatures and geometry in order to 1) measure ridge morphology (orientation and intersection angles) and 2) isolate the spectral signatures of the ridges from their host unit to evaluate hypothesized ridge formation mechanisms. The irregular polygonal nature, near-orthogonal intersections, and lack of dominant orientation are characteristics consistent with fracture propagation under horizontal near-isotropic extensional stress in a physically heterogeneous host rock (inconsistent with impact- or volcanic-related features). Alternatively, very shallow clastic intrusion could produce similar ridge geometry.Our key findings are: 1) ridge orientation-frequency and distribution suggest mineralization or cementation of subsurface fractures or shallow clastic intrusions as favored formation mechanisms and 2) ridges share all the diagnostic spectral features of Mg-smectite (saponite) and/or mixed-layered talc-saponite clays of the host materials; however, ridges express weaker absorptions. If the CRISM spatial and/or spectral resolution has not limited our ability to detect a spectrally unique cementing agent, then both grain size or texture and visible to near-infrared inactive mineralogy could be responsible for the ridge's weaker spectral absorptions (such as quartz and silica, some oxide group minerals, and amorphous materials). Our results imply that shallow subsurface groundwater and hydrothermal activity was likely extensive prior to and during the opening of the Nili Fossae and played an integral role in the formation of the ridges observed throughout the region.

SUPERPIXEL BASED FACTOR ANALYSIS AND TARGET TRANSFORMATION METHOD FOR MARTIAN MINERALS DETECTION

Abstract. The Factor analysis and target transformation (FATT) is an effective method to test for the presence of particular mineral on Martian surface. It has been used both in thermal infrared (Thermal Emission Spectrometer, TES) and near-infrared (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, CRISM) hyperspectral data. FATT derived a set of orthogonal eigenvectors from a mixed system and typically selected first 10 eigenvectors to least square fit the library mineral spectra. However, minerals present only in a limited pixels will be ignored because its weak spectral features compared with full image signatures. Here, we proposed a superpixel based FATT method to detect the mineral distributions on Mars. The simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) algorithm was used to partition the CRISM image into multiple connected image regions with spectral homogeneous to enhance the weak signatures by increasing their proportion in a mixed system. A least square fitting was used in target transformation and performed to each region iteratively. Finally, the distribution of the specific minerals in image was obtained, where fitting residual less than a threshold represent presence and otherwise absence. We validate our method by identifying carbonates in a well analysed CRISM image in Nili Fossae on Mars. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed method work well both in simulated and real data sets.

A search for minerals associated with serpentinization across Mars using CRISM spectral data

Sites associated with serpentinization processes, both on Earth and throughout the Solar System, are becoming increasingly compelling for the study of habitability and astrobiology. The co-occurrence of serpentine, Mg-carbonate, and talc/saponite on Mars is most like terrestrial sites where this mineral suite is produced in low-temperature serpentinizing environments, and where on Earth these reactions support biological activity. This study aims to understand the global distribution of minerals associated with serpentinization. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectral dataset using factor analysis and target transformation methods to efficiently parse through the large quantity of data. These methods allow for the rapid analysis of thousands of images and provide a quantitative means to determine the significant spectral constituents of an image. These methods were used to produce a global distribution map of CRISM images with a significant likelihood of containing the spectral types of interest. Previous detections of serpentine using traditional CRISM analysis techniques were typically corroborated and additional detections were identified in isolated locations across the martian southern highlands. Most serpentine across Mars is associated with another Fe/Mg-phyllosilicate phase like talc and/or saponite. Except for in the Nili Fossae region, serpentine shows no clear relationship with ultramafic bedrock or with the other mineral phases investigated (Mg-carbonate and talc/saponite). Most serpentine detections were found in isolated exposures, associated with crater ejecta, knobby terrain, or as part of discontinuous layers in crater or valley walls. Nili Fossae shows more pervasive and extensive detections of a serpentine + phyllosilicate endmember than previously recognized, particularly in the eastern portion of Nili Fossae where the highest concentration of olivine-rich basalts is located. These findings imply that large, regional-scale near surface serpentinizing systems were likely rare on Mars. However, low-concentration serpentine detections across the southern highlands do suggest more pervasive serpentinization early in Mars history, when the planet was more geologically active.

Wind-Driven Erosion and Exposure Potential at Mars 2020 Rover Candidate-Landing Sites.

Aeolian processes have likely been the predominant geomorphic agent for most of Mars’ history and have the potential to produce relatively young exposure ages for geologic units. Thus, identifying local evidence for aeolian erosion is highly relevant to the selection of landing sites for future missions, such as the Mars 2020 Rover mission that aims to explore astrobiologically relevant ancient environments. Here we investigate wind-driven activity at eight Mars 2020 candidate-landing sites to constrain erosion potential at these locations. To demonstrate our methods, we found that contemporary dune-derived abrasion rates were in agreement with rover-derived exhumation rates at Gale crater and could be employed elsewhere. The Holden crater candidate site was interpreted to have low contemporary erosion rates, based on the presence of a thick sand coverage of static ripples. Active ripples at the Eberswalde and southwest Melas sites may account for local erosion and the dearth of small craters. Moderate-flux regional dunes near Mawrth Vallis were deemed unrepresentative of the candidate site, which is interpreted to currently be experiencing low levels of erosion. The Nili Fossae site displayed the most unambiguous evidence for local sand transport and erosion, likely yielding relatively young exposure ages. The downselected Jezero crater and northeast Syrtis sites had high-flux neighboring dunes and exhibited substantial evidence for sediment pathways across their ellipses. Both sites had relatively high estimated abrasion rates, which would yield young exposure ages. The downselected Columbia Hills site lacked evidence for sand movement, and contemporary local erosion rates are estimated to be relatively low.

Mineral composition of the Martian Gale and Nili Fossae regions from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM images

The identification and classification of minerals on the Martian surface can provide important information and constraints on the environmental and geological evolution. In-situ observations by the Martian Curiosity rover at the landing site in the Gale region provided evidence of water molecules, sulfur, and chlorine, as well as hydrous phyllosilicates. The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has enhanced spectral resolution and can provide information across much greater spatial and time scales. In this paper, CRISM near-infrared spectral data are used to identify mineral classes and their distributions in the Martian Gale and Nili Fossae regions. Using multiple spectral parameter analysis for the Gale Crater region, the distributions of important mineral classes have been mapped, including mafic minerals, hydrated minerals, and carbonates. Using the diagnostic absorption feature from 1.0 to 2.6 μm, six hydrous mineral species are mapped in the Nili Fossae region, including kaolinite, nontronite, chlorite, and vermiculite, which are mostly formed by the weathering or hydrothermal alteration. Specifically, the formation of nontronite needs moderate pH and reducing conditions, which are favorable for the preservation of organic materials. The detection of these minerals in the Nili fossae region suggests that the region has experienced long-term weathering and hydrothermal effects.

Methane Seepage on Mars: Where to Look and Why

Methane on Mars is a topic of special interest because of its potential association with microbial life. The variable detections of methane by the Curiosity rover, orbiters, and terrestrial telescopes, coupled with methane's short lifetime in the martian atmosphere, may imply an active gas source in the planet's subsurface, with migration and surface emission processes similar to those known on Earth as “gas seepage.” Here, we review the variety of subsurface processes that could result in methane seepage on Mars. Such methane could originate from abiotic chemical reactions, thermogenic alteration of abiotic or biotic organic matter, and ancient or extant microbial metabolism. These processes can occur over a wide range of temperatures, in both sedimentary and igneous rocks, and together they enhance the possibility that significant amounts of methane could have formed on early Mars. Methane seepage to the surface would occur preferentially along faults and fractures, through focused macro-seeps and/or diffuse microseepage exhalations. Our work highlights the types of features on Mars that could be associated with methane release, including mud-volcano-like mounds in Acidalia or Utopia; proposed ancient springs in Gusev Crater, Arabia Terra, and Valles Marineris; and rims of large impact craters. These could have been locations of past macro-seeps and may still emit methane today. Microseepage could occur through faults along the dichotomy or fractures such as those at Nili Fossae, Cerberus Fossae, the Argyre impact, and those produced in serpentinized rocks. Martian microseepage would be extremely difficult to detect remotely yet could constitute a significant gas source. We emphasize that the most definitive detection of methane seepage from different release candidates would be best provided by measurements performed in the ground or at the ground-atmosphere interface by landers or rovers and that the technology for such detection is currently available. Key Words: Mars—Methane—Seepage—Clathrate—Fischer-Tropsch—Serpentinization. Astrobiology 17, 1233–1264.

Impact cratering as a cause of climate change, surface alteration, and resurfacing during the early history of Mars

AbstractAncient valley networks (VNs) and related open‐ and closed‐basin lakes are testimony to the presence of flowing liquid water on the surface of Mars in the Late Noachian and Early Hesperian. Uncertain, however, has been the mechanism responsible for causing the necessary rainfall and runoff and/or snowfall and subsequent melting. Impact cratering has been proposed (e.g., Segura et al. 2002) as a process for temporarily raising temperatures and inducing conditions that would produce rainfall, snowmelt, runoff, and formation of the VNs and associated lacustrine features. We refer to the collective effects of this process as the ICASE model (impact cratering atmospheric/surface effects). In this contribution, we assess the proposed impact cratering mechanism in order to understand its climatic implications for early Mars: we outline the step‐by‐step events in the cratering process and explore the predictions for atmospheric and surface geological consequences. For large and basin‐scale impacts, rainfall should be globally and homogeneously distributed and characterized by very high temperatures. Rainfall rates are predicted to be high, ~2 m yr−1, similar to rates in tropical rainforests on Earth, and runoff rates are correspondingly very high. These predicted characteristics do not seem to be consistent with the observed VNs, which are mainly equatorial and not homogeneous in their distribution. Prior to the Late Noachian, however, we predict that basin‐scale impact effects are very likely to contribute significantly to degradation of crater rims and regional smoothing of terrain, implying vast resurfacing and resetting of crater ages following large crater and basin‐scale impacts. Furthermore, the high temperatures of impact‐induced rainwater and snowmelt and the pervasive penetration of heat into the regolith substrate are predicted to have a significant influence on the mineralogical alteration of the crust and its resulting physical properties. We conclude by describing a case example (Isidis basin) and describe how the ICASE model provides an alternative scenario for the interpretation of the layered phyllosilicates in the Nili Fossae and NE Sytris regions. We outline specific conclusions and recommendations designed to improve the ICASE model and to promote further understanding of its implications for the geological, mineralogical, and climate history of early Mars.

Online characterization of planetary surfaces: PlanetServer, an open-source analysis and visualization tool

The lack of open-source tools for hyperspectral data visualization and analysis creates a demand for new tools. In this paper we present the new PlanetServer, a set of tools comprising a web Geographic Information System (GIS) and a recently developed Python Application Programming Interface (API) capable of visualizing and analyzing a wide variety of hyperspectral data from different planetary bodies. Current WebGIS open-source tools are evaluated in order to give an overview and contextualize how PlanetServer can help in this matters. The web client is thoroughly described as well as the datasets available in PlanetServer. Also, the Python API is described and exposed the reason of its development. Two different examples of mineral characterization of different hydrosilicates such as chlorites, prehnites and kaolinites in the Nili Fossae area on Mars are presented. As the obtained results show positive outcome in hyperspectral analysis and visualization compared to previous literature, we suggest using the PlanetServer approach for such investigations.

The Lost City Hydrothermal Field: A Spectroscopic and Astrobiological Analogue for Nili Fossae, Mars.

Low-temperature serpentinization is a critical process with respect to Earth's habitability and the Solar System. Exothermic serpentinization reactions commonly produce hydrogen as a direct by-product and typically produce short-chained organic compounds indirectly. Here, we present the spectral and mineralogical variability in rocks from the serpentine-driven Lost City Hydrothermal Field on Earth and the olivine-rich region of Nili Fossae on Mars. Near- and thermal-infrared spectral measurements were made from a suite of Lost City rocks at wavelengths similar to those for instruments collecting measurements of the martian surface. Results from Lost City show a spectrally distinguishable suite of Mg-rich serpentine, Ca carbonates, talc, and amphibole minerals. Aggregated detections of low-grade metamorphic minerals in rocks from Nili Fossae were mapped and yielded a previously undetected serpentine exposure in the region. Direct comparison of the two spectral suites indicates similar mineralogy at both Lost City and in the Noachian (4-3.7 Ga) bedrock of Nili Fossae, Mars. Based on mapping of these spectral phases, the implied mineralogical suite appears to be extensive across the region. These results suggest that serpentinization was once an active process, indicating that water and energy sources were available, as well as a means for prebiotic chemistry during a time period when life was first emerging on Earth. Although the mineralogical assemblages identified on Mars are unlikely to be directly analogous to rocks that underlie the Lost City Hydrothermal Field, related geochemical processes (and associated sources of biologically accessible energy) were once present in the subsurface, making Nili Fossae a compelling candidate for a once-habitable environment on Mars. Key Words: Mars-Habitability-Serpentinization-Analogue. Astrobiology 17, 1138-1160.

The geological history of Northeast Syrtis Major, Mars

As inferred from orbital spectroscopic data, Northeast Syrtis Major bears considerable mineral diversity that spans the Noachian-Hesperian boundary despite its small geographic area. In this study we use observations from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, supplemented with Context Camera imagery, to characterize and map the lateral extent of geomorphic units in Northeast Syrtis Major, and constrain the geomorphic context of the orbital-identified mineral signatures. Using recent observations, we confirm previous mineralogy identified with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, and greatly extend the lateral extent of visible to near-infrared investigation utilizing the greater coverage. Analysis of Thermal Emission Imaging System observations reveals further physical properties and distribution of the geomorphic units. The stratigraphy, which spans the Noachian-Hesperian boundary, displays significant morphological heterogeneity at the decameter scale, but it is unifiable under five distinct geomorphic units. Our paired morphological and mineralogical analysis allows us to construct a detailed geological history of Northeast Syrtis Major. Several geological events that occurred in Northeast Syrtis Major—including the formation of the post-Isidis crust, the emplacement of an olivine-rich unit, the formation of sulfate minerals, and the emplacement of the Syrtis Major Volcanics—can be related to regional and global processes constraining the local chronology. Other mineralogical indicators, particularly the formation of Al-phyllosilicates, are difficult to place in the temporal sequence. They are observed in isolated patches on the post-Isidis crust, not as a distinct stratigraphic unit as observed elsewhere in Nili Fossae, suggesting their formation via isolated leaching or through alteration of initial compositional heterogeneities within the crust. Exposures of an olivine-rich unit are intermittently observed to form quasi-circular landforms, suggestive of emplacement in circular depressions, which may indicate a period of cratering between the formation of the Isidis basin and the deposition of the olivine-rich unit. We identify and discuss intriguing large linear features of the olivine-rich unit, reminiscent of dyke-fed volcanism, that have raised bounding ridges suggestive of contact metamorphism with the crust. We compile, review, and discuss many of the outstanding questions and running hypotheses relevant to our mapping area. A synthesis of our geomorphic mapping with recent literature reveals a well-defined geological history with extensive aqueous activity at Northeast Syrtis Major that is amassed in a stratigraphic sequence spanning a time likely greater than 250 million years of geological history. Our geomorphic and spectral analyses confirm that Northeast Syrtis Major exhibits considerable geomorphic and mineralogic diversity within a relatively small geographic area that is representative of the geologic processes occurring throughout the broader Nili Fossae region during the Noachian and Hesperian. Northeast Syrtis Major adds to this sequence by exposing the diverse environmental history of this region as observed through the presence of alteration minerals not present in this fidelity or proximity elsewhere in Nili Fossae.

Identification and refinement of martian surface mineralogy using factor analysis and target transformation of near-infrared spectroscopic data

Factor analysis and target transformation techniques were applied to the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectral dataset to identify spectral endmembers, reduce noise, and automate image analysis. These techniques allow for rapid processing of images and identification of weak spectral signals. We have applied the automated technique to over 3000 CRISM images and successfully identified endmembers including phyllosilicates (e.g., serpentine, nontronite, and illite), sulfates (e.g., gypsum), carbonates (e.g., magnesite) and hydrated silica. To test these techniques, factor analysis and target transformation were applied to all available full spectral resolution covering the Nili Fossae region from 1.7 to 2. 6µm data to identify the occurrence of Mg-carbonate in the region. We have also applied the factor analysis and target transformation as a noise reduction algorithm, which also allows for improved results from other common image analysis techniques, including spectral ratios and index maps.

Distinguishing in situ stromatolite biosignatures from silicification and dolomitisation using short wave, visible-near and thermal infrared spectroscopy: A Mars analogue study

The search for life on Mars has relied on infrared spectroscopy from orbit and in situ rovers to detect chemical signals akin to those found within stromatolites on Earth. Carbonate and hydrothermally altered mineral signals were detected on small rock units within the Nili Fossae region, and in small concentrations within the Gusev Crater region, but these minerals were likely a product of dolomitisation rather than an indicator of stromatolitic precipitation. To date, no studies have been undertaken to investigate the effect of weathering processes such as dolomitisation and silicification, which may obscure mineralogical signals that may be associated with stromatolites during in situ spectroscopic detection. This study investigates the capacity that short-wave, visible-near, and thermal infrared spectrometers have in detecting minerals in the oldest known and heavily weathered stromatolites of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. A diversity of mineral signals in stromatolitic samples can be distinguished from dolomitisation and silicification in even the oldest rock units, when fresh surfaces are scanned multiple times by a short-wave infrared capable spectrometer, with a minimum spectral resolution of 7nm. It is expected that this approach will significantly inform and direct the interpretation of carbonate signals within the heavily weathered Noachian rock units on Mars.

Polygonal ridge networks on Mars: Diversity of morphologies and the special case of the Eastern Medusae Fossae Formation

Polygonal ridge networks, also known as boxwork or reticulate ridges, are found in numerous locations and geological contexts across Mars. Distinguishing the morphologies and geological context of the ridge networks sheds light on their potential as astrobiological and mineral resource sites of interest. The most widespread type of ridge morphology is characteristic of the Nili Fossae and Nilosyrtis region and consists of thin, criss-crossing ridges with a variety of heights, widths, and intersection angles. They are found in ancient Noachian terrains at a variety of altitudes (between -2500 and 2200m) and geographic locations and are likely to be chemically altered fracture planes or mineral veins. They occur in the same general areas as valley networks and ancient lake basins, but they are not more numerous where these water-related features are concentrated, and can appear in places where th morphologies are absent. Similarly, some of the ridge networks are located near hydrated mineral detections, but there is not a one-to-one correlation. Smaller, light-toned ridges of variable widths have been found in Gale Crater and other rover sites and are interpreted to be smaller versions of the Nili-like ridges, mostly formed by the mineralization of fractures. This type of ridge is likely to be found in many other places on Mars as more high-resolution data become available. Sinus Meridiani contains many flat-topped ridges arranged into quasi-circular patterns. The ridges are eroding from a clay-rich unit, and could be formed by a similar process as the Nili-type ridges, but at a much larger scale and controlled by fractures made through a different process. Hellas Basin is host to a fourth type of ridge morphology consisting of large, thick, light-toned ridges forming regular polygons at several superimposed scales. While still enigmatic, these are most likely to be the result of sediment-filled fractures. The Eastern Medusae Fossae Formation contains large swaths of a fifth, previously undocumented, ridge network type. The dark ridges, reaching up to 50m in height, enclose regular polygons and erode into dark boulders. These ridge networks are interpreted to form as a result of lava flow embayment of deeply fractured Medusae Fossae Formation outcrops.

The complex relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia on Mars.

We examine four olivine-bearing regions at a variety of spatial scales with thermal infrared, visible to near-infrared, and visible imagery data to investigate the hypothesis that the relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia (i.e., effective particle size) can be used to infer the occurrence of olivine chemical alteration during sediment production on Mars. As in previous work, Nili Fossae and Isidis Planitia show a positive correlation between thermal inertia and olivine abundance in Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data, which could be interpreted as indicating olivine chemical weathering. However, geomorphological analysis reveals that relatively olivine-poor sediments are not derived from adjacent olivine-rich materials, and therefore, chemical weathering cannot be inferred based on the olivine-thermal inertia relationship alone. We identify two areas (Terra Cimmeria and Argyre Planitia) with significant olivine abundance and thermal inertias consistent with sand, but no adjacent rocky (parent) units having even greater olivine abundances. More broadly, global analysis with TES reveals that the most typical olivine abundance on Mars is ~5-7% and that olivine-bearing (5-25%) materials have a wide range of thermal inertias, commonly 25-600 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2. TES also indicates that the majority of olivine-rich (>25%) materials have apparent thermal inertias less than 400 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2. In summary, we find that the relationship between thermal inertia and olivine abundance alone cannot be used in infer olivine weathering in the examined areas, that olivine-bearing materials have a large range of thermal intertias, and therefore that a complex relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia exists on Mars.

Carbon sequestration on Mars: COMMENT

Using data acquired from the Nili Fossae region of Mars by orbital remote sensing, Edwards and Ehlmann (2015) have demonstrated that CO2 was removed from the planet’s late Noachian–early Hesperian atmosphere by replacement (carbonation) of olivine-enriched basalts. Given the relatively low volumes (~20% at most) of carbonate present in the study area, and the apparent absence of carbonate-rich terranes of similar size elsewhere on Mars, they questioned whether carbonation alone could account for the loss of a putative thick CO2-rich atmosphere. The work of Edwards and Ehlmann is therefore a highly significant contribution to the long-running debate about the nature and evolution of the climate of early Mars. The authors noted that Martian meteorites contain carbonates, and suggested that further evaluation of these rocks could improve our understanding of the planet’s carbon cycle. Here we review published results from Martian meteorites, in particular the nakhlite group, which have already provided important insights into the mechanisms and time scales of mineralization and storage of CO2 in Mars’ crust. This evidence can help to discriminate between the various models for sequestration of Martian carbon that were discussed by Edwards and Ehlmann. The nakhlites were impact-ejected from Mars, probably from one location and in a single event. They are clinopyroxenites, and most contain olivine. The majority of these igneous rocks have been partially aqueously altered to produce a very fine-grained intergrowth of minerals including Fe-rich carbonates (up to ~1 vol%) and hydrous silicates (Gooding et al., 1991; Treiman et al., 1993; Changela and Bridges, 2011; Lee et al., 2013). These alteration products are collectively called ‘iddingsite.’ Water-rock interaction took place at some time between crystallization of the melt (ca. 1300 Ma) and impact-ejection (ca. 11 Ma; Eugster et al., 1997); the best current estimate is ca. 633 Ma (Borg and Drake, 2005). The high deuterium/hydrogen ratio of the iddingsite demonstrates that its parent aqueous fluids had equilibrated with Mars’ atmosphere (Hallis et al., 2012). Mineralogical and crystal-chemical records of atmosphere-water-rock interactions that are contained within the nakhlites support some of the conclusions of Edwards and Ehlmann, but also emphasize the importance of incorporating the meteorite record in any comprehensive model. For example, microstructural evidence demonstrates that the carbonates were formed by replacement of olivine and a plagioclase feldspar-rich mesostasis, whereas the volumetrically dominant augite has remained unaltered (Tomkinson et al., 2013). The differential susceptibility of silicates in these meteorites to carbonation helps to account for distinct contrasts between Nili Fossae rock units in their relative abundances of olivine and carbonate. The occurrence of carbonates within veins in the nakhlites (Tomkinson et al., 2013) is also consistent with the suggestion by Edwards and Ehlmann that fracturing had facilitated the movement of aqueous solutions through the Nili Fossae basalts. However, the partial replacement of nakhlite carbonates by phyllosilicates and Feoxyhydroxides (Tomkinson et al., 2013) demonstrates that this crustal store of carbon was not necessarily permanent. The age of the nakhlite carbonates shows that atmospheric CO2 was being mineralized and stored in the late Amazonian. Scarce 3900-m.y.old carbonates also occur in the Martian orthopyroxenite Allan Hills (ALH)84001 (Borg et al., 1999). The meteorite record therefore supports the ‘deep–diffuse sequestration’ model that was invoked by Edwards and Ehlmann to account for the carbonate that is ‘missing’ from the Martian crust on the assumption that its early atmosphere was thinned mainly by mineral sequestration. The deep-diffuse model proposes that low volumes of finely disseminated carbonate formed within the crust throughout much of Mars’ history, and as Edwards and Ehlmann note, these carbonates would be “undetectable by remote sensing.” Products of aqueous alteration are essentially absent from the shergottite meteorites, which sample younger than ca.600 Ma basalts from several different locations, thus indicating that the drivers of crustal sequestration had effectively ceased within the past few hundred million years. The record of reactions between the Martian atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere in our meteorite collections is manifestly very patchy as regards age spectrum and rock types (i.e., it is highly biased toward igneous rocks from younger terranes). Additionally, stresses accompanying impact ejection of these rocks, their interplanetary transfer and fall to Earth may militate against the sampling of heavily carbonated lithologies that are likely to be brittle and fractured. Nonetheless, information on the presence/absence and petrographic context of carbonate minerals in Martian meteorites provides very valuable information on the magnitude of CO2 sequestration, petrologic and microstructural controls on the carbonation reaction, and its temporal and geographical range. This record indicates to us that the deep-diffuse model remains viable, and it can be tested further as new meteorites from regions of Mars that have not been previously sampled become available for study.

Elevated bulk-silica exposures and evidence for multiple aqueous alteration episodes in Nili Fossae, Mars

The Nili Fossae region of Mars contains some of the most mineralogically diverse bedrock on the planet. Previous studies have established three main stratigraphic units in the region: a phyllosilicate-bearing basement rock, a variably altered olivine-rich basalt, and a capping rock. Here, we present evidence for the localized alteration of the northeast Nili Fossae capping unit, previously considered to be unaltered. Both near-infrared and thermal-infrared spectral datasets were analyzed, including the application of a method for determining the relative abundance of bulk-silica (SiO2) over surfaces using thermal emission imaging system (THEMIS) images. Elevated bulk-silica exposures are present on surfaces previously defined as unaltered capping rock. Given the lack of spectral evidence for phyllosilicate, hydrated silica, or quartz phases coincident with the newly detected exposures—the elevated bulk-silica may have formed under a number of aqueous scenarios, including as a product of the carbonation of the underlying olivine-rich basalt under moderate water: rock scenarios and temperatures. Regardless of formation mechanism, the detection of elevated bulk-silica exposures in the Nili Fossae capping unit extends the history of aqueous activity in the region to include all three of the main stratigraphic units.

Extensive aqueous deposits at the base of the dichotomy boundary in Nilosyrtis Mensae, Mars

Thermal emission imaging system (THEMIS) and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectral datasets were used to identify high bulk SiO2 and hydrated compositions throughout the Nilosyrtis Mensae region. Four isolated locations were identified across the region showing short wavelength silicate absorptions within the 8–12μm spectral region, indicating surfaces dominated by high Si phases. Much more extensive exposures of hydrated compositions are present throughout the region, indicated by a spectral absorption near 1.9μm in CRISM data. Although limited in spatial coverage, detailed spectral observations indicate that the hydrated materials contain Fe/Mg-smectites and hydrated silica along with minor exposures of Mg-carbonates and an unidentified hydrated phase. The high SiO2 and hydrated materials are present in layered sediments near the base of topographic scarps at the hemispheric dichotomy boundary, typically near or within low albedo sand deposits. The source of the high SiO2 and hydrated materials appears to be from groundwater discharge from Nili Fossae and Syrtis Major to the south, where there is evidence for extensive aqueous alteration of the subsurface. Although discontinuous, the exposures of high SiO2 and hydrated materials span a wide area and are present in a similar geomorphological context to previously identified deposits in western Hellas Basin. These regional deposits may reflect aqueous conditions and alteration within the adjacent crust of the martian highlands.