P43A:
Diagenesis on Mars and Clues from Terrestrial Systems II


Submit an Abstract to this Session


Session ID#: 60146

Session Description:
In-situ observations of Mars by the last two generations of rovers have revealed evidence of significant diagenesis. Opportunity first discovered calcium-sulfate-filled veins, now seen as relatively ubiquitous at both Meridiani and Gale crater. Boron is present in Ca-sulfate fractures observed by Curiosity in Gale. Additionally, Mg-rich and Mn-oxide-rich fracture fills were found at Yellowknife Bay and the Kimberley, respectively, and silica enrichment zones were found near fractures from Marias Pass to Bridger Basin. Fluorine-rich diagenetic material has also been observed. Finally, morphological features such as post-depositional nodules and concretions are observed in many locations.

Terrestrial diagenesis is widespread in sedimentary formations and many examples can be used to understand observations on Mars despite the differences in chemistry and the influence of biology in terrestrial subsurface fluid/rock interactions. For example, terrestrial concretions and gypsum veins are common and physical formation processes inform our understanding and modeling of these features on Mars.

Primary Convener:  Roger C Wiens, Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States
Convener:  Sally L Potter-McIntyre, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, United States
Primary Liaison:  Roger C Wiens, Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States
Chairs:  Roger C Wiens, Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos, United States and Sally L Potter-McIntyre, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Patrick James Gasda, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • B - Biogeosciences
  • EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
  • V - Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology
Index Terms:

0406 Astrobiology and extraterrestrial materials [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
5415 Erosion and weathering [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS]
5419 Hydrology and fluvial processes [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS]
6225 Mars [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Evidence for Alteration and Diagenesis at Gale Crater, Mars from the Curiosity Rover (Invited) (434511)
Elizabeth B Rampe1, Thomas Bristow2, David Frederick Blake3, David T Vaniman4, Richard V Morris5, Douglas W Ming5, Albert Yen6, Cherie Achilles7, Steve Chipera8, Valerie Tu9, Kenneth S Edgett10, Jennifer L Eigenbrode7, Ralf Gellert11, John P Grotzinger12, Shaunna M Morrison13, David J Des Marais3, Gordon Downs14, Robert T Downs15, Sanjeev Gupta16, Robert M Hazen17, Linda C Kah18, Tanya Peretyazhko19, Mark R Salvatore20, Mariek E Schmidt21, Kirsten Siebach22, Brad Sutter23, Lucy M Thompson24, Allan H Treiman25, Jeff A Berger26, Nicholas Castle27, Patricia Craig28, Alberto G. Fairén29, Olivier Forni30, Joel Hurowitz31 and Nina Lanza32, (1)NASA Johnson Space Center, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, Houston, TX, United States, (2)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, United States, (3)NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology Branch, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (4)Planetary Science Institute, Tuscon, United States, (5)NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, (6)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (7)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (8)Chesapeake Energy, Oklahoma City, OK, United States, (9)Jacobs at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, United States, (10)Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA, United States, (11)University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, (12)Caltech, Pasadena, United States, (13)Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC, United States, (14)University of Arizona, Tucson, United States, (15)University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Tucson, AZ, United States, (16)Imperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, London, United Kingdom, (17)Carnegie Inst, Washington, DC, United States, (18)University of Tennesse, Knoxville, United States, (19)Jacobs Technology, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, (20)Northern Arizona University, Astronomy and Planetary Science, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (21)Brock University, St Catharines, ON, Canada, (22)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, (23)Amentum, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, United States, (24)University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada, (25)Lunar & Planetary Inst, Houston, TX, United States, (26)University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, (27)Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States, (28)Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, United States, (29)Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain, and Dept. of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States, (30)IRAP, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, Toulouse Cedex 4, France, (31)Stony Brook University, Geosciences, Stony Brook, NY, United States, (32)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
Characterizing X-ray Amorphous Phases through Diffraction Profile Modeling: Understanding Weathering and Diagenesis in Gale Crater (447015)
Cherie Achilles1, Gordon Downs2, Robert T Downs3, Richard V Morris4, Steve Chipera5, Douglas W Ming4, Elizabeth B Rampe6, Amy McAdam7, Christine A Knudson8, David Frederick Blake9, Thomas Bristow10, David T Vaniman11, Albert Yen12, Shaunna M Morrison13, Patricia Craig14, Robert Hazen15, Valerie Tu16 and Nicholas Castle17, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (2)University of Arizona, Tucson, United States, (3)University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Tucson, AZ, United States, (4)NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, (5)Chesapeake Energy, Oklahoma City, OK, United States, (6)NASA Johnson Space Center, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, Houston, TX, United States, (7)NASA Goddard SFC, Greenbelt, United States, (8)CRESST/University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, United States, (9)NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology Branch, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (10)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, United States, (11)Planetary Science Institute, Tuscon, United States, (12)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (13)Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC, United States, (14)Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, United States, (15)Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, United States, (16)Jacobs at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, United States, (17)Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States
Diagenetic groundwater models and the distribution of salts observed at Gale crater, Mars (423888)
William Rapin1, Bethany L Ehlmann2, John P Grotzinger1, Joel Hurowitz3, Woodward W Fischer4, Nancy H. Thomas1, Samuel M Clegg5, Roger C Wiens6, Marion Nachon7, Vivian Zheng Sun8 and Lucy M Thompson9, (1)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (2)California Institute of Technology, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, CA, United States, (3)Stony Brook University, Geosciences, Stony Brook, NY, United States, (4)California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, United States, (5)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, (6)Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos, United States, (7)UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, United States, (8)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States, (9)University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
Aqueous Sulfate Budget at Volcanic Terrains and Implications for Sulfate Origin in Diagenetic Fluids from Gale Crater on Mars (397837)
Anna Szynkiewicz, University of Tennessee, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Knoxville, TN, United States, Fraser E Goff, Self Employed, Washington, DC, United States, Anthony M Faiia, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States and David T Vaniman, Planetary Science Institute, Tuscon, United States
Constraining Boron Geochemistry in the Gale Crater Subsurface Environment: Implications for Prebiotic Chemistry (399161)
Patrick James Gasda1, Nina Lanza2, Laura J Crossey3, Eric Peterson4, Abdulmehdi Ali3, Chris M Yeager2, Brendon Parsons2, Andrea Labouriau5, Alberto G. Fairén6, Sarah N. Lamm7, William Rapin8, Roger C Wiens9 and Samuel M Clegg1, (1)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, (2)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States, (3)University of New Mexico Main Campus, Albuquerque, NM, United States, (4)University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States, (5)Los Alamoas Natioanl Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States, (6)Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain, and Dept. of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States, (7)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, KS, United States, (8)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (9)Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos, United States
Polygonal Ridge Networks in Arabia Terra, Nili Fossae and Nilosyrtis: Potential Implications for Mars 2020 Landing Site Selection (423661)
Aditya Rai Khuller1,2, Laura Kerber1, Megan Elizabeth Schwamb3, Sylvia Beer4, Ray Perry4, William Hood4, Fernando Nogal4, Klaus-Michael Aye5, Ganna Portyankina6 and Candice J. Hansen7, (1)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (2)Arizona State University, Tempe, United States, (3)Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, Hilo, HI, United States, (4)Planet Four: Ridges Team, Pasadena, United States, (5)Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States, (6)University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, United States, (7)Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, United States
Diagenesis of organic microfossils and their mineral matrices: Implications for biosignature preservation on Earth and Mars (Invited) (461766)
Andrew D Czaja, University of Cincinnati Main Campus, Department of Geosciences, Cincinnati, United States, Andrew Gangidine, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States, Kira Lorber, University of Cincinnati Main Campus, Cincinnati, OH, United States and Jeffrey T Osterhout, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
Lithification and Diagenesis of Ultramafic Volcanic Ash Deposits on Mars (455292)
Steven W Ruff, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, United States and Victoria E Hamilton, Southwest Research Institute Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
Diagenetic Concretions in the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars (403274)
Vivian Zheng Sun1, Kathryn Stack1, Linda C Kah2, Amy J Williams3, Lucy M Thompson4, Roger C Wiens5, Scott VanBommel6, Sarah Johnson7, Christopher H House8, Marion Nachon9, Woodward W Fischer10, Rachel E. Kronyak11, Michelle Elaine Minitti12, Kirsten Siebach13 and Dawn Y Sumner14, (1)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, (2)University of Tennesse, Knoxville, United States, (3)University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Ft Walton Beach, FL, United States, (4)University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada, (5)Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos, United States, (6)University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, (7)Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States, (8)Pennsylvania State University, Geosciences and Environmental Systems Institute, University Park, United States, (9)University of Nantes, Nantes, France, (10)Caltech, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, United States, (11)University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States, (12)Framework, Silver Spring, MD, United States, (13)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, (14)University of California, Davis, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Davis, United States
Reworking and Diagenesis of Martian Soil: Pathway to Murray Formation Sediments? (399247)
Albert S Yen1, Douglas W Ming2, Cherie Achilles3, Jeff A Berger4, Benton C Clark5, Robert T Downs6, Ralf Gellert7, Richard V Morris2, Shaunna M Morrison8, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper9, Elizabeth B Rampe10, Mark R Salvatore11, Robert J Sullivan Jr12 and Lucy M Thompson9, (1)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (2)NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, (3)University of Arizona, Geosciences, Tucson, AZ, United States, (4)University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, (5)Space Science Institute Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, (6)University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, (7)University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, (8)Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC, United States, (9)University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada, (10)NASA Johnson Space Center, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, Houston, TX, United States, (11)Northern Arizona University, Astronomy and Planetary Science, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (12)Cornell University, CCAPS, Ithaca, NY, United States

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