Coeval Formation of Aqueous Minerals on Mars

Abstract:

Understanding the geochemical conditions on early Mars requires an explanation for the presence of sulfates and phyllosilicates, which must be also consistent with the absence of widespread sedimentary carbonates. In addition, sulfates and phyllosilicates do not generally occur together on Mars, which has been interpreted as a marker for detached mineral formation due to differing planetary environmental conditions separated dramatically, either in time or in space. Here, thermodynamic equilibrium calculations are used to determine the stability boundaries for phyllosilicates, ferrous and ferric sulfates, carbonates and iron oxyhydroxides precipitation on early Mars, at different atmospheric CO₂ pressures and both under reducing and oxidizing conditions. Results suggest that phyllosilicates formed in mildly acidic to alkaline aqueous solutions, with a pH>4 for nontronite and a pH>6 for other smectites with low content in Fe and Mg (montmorillonite, saponite). Sulfate deposition dominates in solutions moderately to highly acidic, with a pH<6 conducive to the synthesis of kieserite. In the overlapping phyllosilicates/sulfates pH range, between 4 and 6, a competition for Mg between nontronite and kieserite is expected, and the formation of nontronite would be favored in areas where SiO₂ activity in surface waters was high as a result of intense weathering of the early basaltic crust. Carbonates formed at pH>6, overlapping with the synthesis of low-Fe-Mg smectites. Model calculations anticipate the co-precipitation of smectites and siderite or any alteration product that could have resulted from the later substitution of Fe in siderite, such as Mg- or Mn-carbonate, triggering a competition for Mg between magnesite and low-Fe-Mg smectites. As expected, the model does not predict coeval synthesis of carbonates and sulfates. Goethite and other oxyhydroxides precipitate at pH below 2, a range at which jarosite and goethite are the expected iron-bearing phases. These results suggest that the major water-alteration products on the Martian surface were deposited simultaneously in space and in time, creating diverse geochemical conditions over the entire surface of a cold Mars during the wet Noachian/Hesperian times.