Premium
Hydrous olivine alteration on Mars and Earth
Author(s) -
Váci Zoltán,
Agee Carl B.,
Herd Christopher D. K.,
Walton Erin,
Tschauner Oliver,
Ziegler Karen,
Prakapenka Vitali B.,
Greenberg Eran,
MoniqueThomas Sylvia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
meteoritics and planetary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.09
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 1086-9379
DOI - 10.1111/maps.13479
Subject(s) - olivine , geology , meteorite , basalt , geochemistry , martian , mars exploration program , metasomatism , parent body , population , astrobiology , mineralogy , mantle (geology) , chondrite , sociology , physics , demography
Hydrous alteration of olivine macrocrysts in a Martian olivine phyric basalt, NWA 10416, and a terrestrial basalt from southern Colorado are examined using SEM, EPMA, TEM, and µXRD techniques. The olivines in the meteorite contain linear nanotubes of hydrous material, amorphous areas, and fluid dissolution textures quite distinct from alteration identified in other Martian meteorites. Instead, they bear resemblance to terrestrial deuteric alteration features. The presence of the hydrous alteration phase Mg‐laihunite within the olivines has been confirmed by µXRD analysis. The cores of the olivines in both Martian and terrestrial samples are overgrown by unaltered rims whose compositions match those of a separate population of groundmass olivines, suggesting that the core olivines are xenocrysts whose alteration preceded crystallization of the groundmass. The terrestrial sample is linked to deep crustal metasomatism and the “ignimbrite flare‐up” of the Oligocene epoch. The comparison of the two samples suggests the existence of an analogous relatively water‐rich magmatic reservoir on Mars.