Mössbauer mineralogy of rock, soil, and dust at Gusev crater, Mars: Spirit's journey through weakly altered olivine basalt on the plains and pervasively altered basalt in the Columbia Hills | Zendy

Morris R. V. | Zendy; Klingelhöfer G. | Zendy; Schröder C. | Zendy; Rodionov D. S. | Zendy; Yen A. | Zendy; Ming D. W. | Zendy; de Souza P. A. | Zendy; Fleischer I. | Zendy; Wdowiak T. | Zendy; Gellert R. | Zendy; Bernhardt B. | Zendy; Evlanov E. N. | Zendy; Zubkov B. | Zendy; Foh J. | Zendy; Bonnes U. | Zendy; Kankeleit E. | Zendy; Gütlich P. | Zendy; Renz F. | Zendy; Squyres S. W. | Zendy; Arvidson R. E. | Zendy

Open Access

Mössbauer mineralogy of rock, soil, and dust at Gusev crater, Mars: Spirit's journey through weakly altered olivine basalt on the plains and pervasively altered basalt in the Columbia Hills

Author(s) -

Morris R. V.,

Klingelhöfer G.,

Schröder C.,

Rodionov D. S.,

Yen A.,

Ming D. W.,

de Souza P. A.,

Fleischer I.,

Wdowiak T.,

Gellert R.,

Bernhardt B.,

Evlanov E. N.,

Zubkov B.,

Foh J.,

Bonnes U.,

Kankeleit E.,

Gütlich P.,

Renz F.,

Squyres S. W.,

Arvidson R. E.

Publication year - 2006

Publication title -

journal of geophysical research: planets

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67

H-Index - 298

eISSN - 2156-2202

pISSN - 0148-0227

DOI - 10.1029/2005je002584

Subject(s) - goethite , geology , basalt , hematite , olivine , pyroxene , magnetite , geochemistry , ilmenite , mineralogy , chemistry , paleontology , organic chemistry , adsorption

The Mössbauer spectrometer on Spirit measured the oxidation state of Fe, identified Fe‐bearing phases, and measured relative abundances of Fe among those phases for surface materials on the plains and in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. Eight Fe‐bearing phases were identified: olivine, pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, nanophase ferric oxide (npOx), hematite, goethite, and a Fe 3+ ‐sulfate. Adirondack basaltic rocks on the plains are nearly unaltered (Fe 3+ /Fe T < 0.2) with Fe from olivine, pyroxene (Ol > Px), and minor npOx and magnetite. Columbia Hills basaltic rocks are nearly unaltered (Peace and Backstay), moderately altered (WoolyPatch, Wishstone, and Keystone), and pervasively altered (e.g., Clovis, Uchben, Watchtower, Keel, and Paros with Fe 3+ /Fe T ∼ 0.6–0.9). Fe from pyroxene is greater than Fe from olivine (Ol sometimes absent), and Fe 2+ from Ol + Px is 40–49% and 9–24% for moderately and pervasively altered materials, respectively. Ilmenite (Fe from Ilm ∼3–6%) is present in Backstay, Wishstone, Keystone, and related rocks along with magnetite (Fe from Mt ∼10–15%). Remaining Fe is present as npOx, hematite, and goethite in variable proportions. Clovis has the highest goethite content (Fe from Gt = 40%). Goethite (α‐FeOOH) is mineralogical evidence for aqueous processes because it has structural hydroxide and is formed under aqueous conditions. Relatively unaltered basaltic soils (Fe 3+ /Fe T ∼ 0.3) occur throughout Gusev crater (∼60–80% Fe from Ol + Px, ∼10–30% from npOx, and ∼10% from Mt). PasoRobles soil in the Columbia Hills has a unique occurrence of high concentrations of Fe 3+ ‐sulfate (∼65% of Fe). Magnetite is identified as a strongly magnetic phase in Martian soil and dust.

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