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  4. The potassic sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater, Mars, as seen by ChemCam on board Curiosity
 
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The potassic sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater, Mars, as seen by ChemCam on board Curiosity
File(s)
jgre20516.pdf (6.42 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Le Deit, L
Mangold, N
Forni, O
Cousin, A
Lasue, J
more
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered potassium-rich clastic sedimentary rocks at two sites in Gale Crater, the waypoints Cooperstown and Kimberley. These rocks include several distinct meters thick sedimentary outcrops ranging from fine sandstone to conglomerate, interpreted to record an ancient fluvial or fluvio-deltaic depositional system. From ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) chemical analyses, this suite of sedimentary rocks has an overall mean K2O abundance that is more than 5 times higher than that of the average Martian crust. The combined analysis of ChemCam data with stratigraphic and geographic locations reveals that the mean K2O abundance increases upward through the stratigraphic section. Chemical analyses across each unit can be represented as mixtures of several distinct chemical components, i.e., mineral phases, including K-bearing minerals, mafic silicates, Fe-oxides, and Fe-hydroxide/oxyhydroxides. Possible K-bearing minerals include alkali feldspar (including anorthoclase and sanidine) and K-bearing phyllosilicate such as illite. Mixtures of different source rocks, including a potassium-rich rock located on the rim and walls of Gale Crater, are the likely origin of observed chemical variations within each unit. Physical sorting may have also played a role in the enrichment in K in the Kimberley formation. The occurrence of these potassic sedimentary rocks provides additional evidence for the chemical diversity of the crust exposed at Gale Crater.
Date Issued
2016-05-13
Date Acceptance
2016-03-30
Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 2016, 121 (5), pp.784-804
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/39954
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015JE004987
ISSN
2169-9100
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Start Page
784
End Page
804
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Volume
121
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2016 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Grant Number
ST/J005169/1
ST/N000579/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Geochemistry & Geophysics
IN-SITU
INSTRUMENT SUITE
K-FELDSPAR
ORIGIN
ROVER
SANDSTONE
EVOLUTION
OLIVINE
OUTCROP
SYSTEM
Publication Status
Published
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