Diagenetic silica enrichment and late-stage groundwater activity in Gale crater, Mars
Creators
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Frydenvang, J.1, 2
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Gasda, P. J.1
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Hurowitz, J. A.3
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Grotzinger, J. P.4
- Wiens, R. C.1
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Newsom, H. E.5
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Edgett, K. S.6
- Watkins, J.4
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Bridges, J. C.7
- Maurice, S.8
- Fisk, M. R.9
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Johnson, J. R.10
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Rapin, W.4
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Stein, N. T.4
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Clegg, S. M.1
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Schwenzer, S. P.11
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Bedford, C. C.11
- Edwards, P.7
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Mangold, N.12
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Cousin, A.8
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Anderson, R. B.13
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Payré, V.14
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Vaniman, D.15
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Blake, D. F.16
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Lanza, N. L.1
- Gupta, S.17
- Van Beek, J.6
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Sautter, V.18
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Meslin, P.-Y.8
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Rice, M.19
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Milliken, R.20
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Gellert, R.21
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Thompson, L.22
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Clark, B. C.23
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Sumner, D. Y.24
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Fraeman, A. A.25
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Kinch, K. M.2
- Madsen, M. B.2
- Mitrofanov, I. G.26
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Jun, I.25
- Calef, F.25
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Vasavada, A. R.25
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1.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
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2.
University of Copenhagen
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3.
Stony Brook University
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4.
California Institute of Technology
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5.
University of New Mexico
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6.
Malin Space Science Systems (United States)
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7.
University of Leicester
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8.
Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology
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9.
Oregon State University
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10.
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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11.
The Open University
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12.
Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes
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13.
United States Geological Survey
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14.
University of Lorraine
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15.
Planetary Science Institute
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16.
Ames Research Center
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17.
Imperial College London
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Institute of Mineralogy, Materials Physics and Cosmochemistry
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19.
Western Washington University
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20.
Brown University
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21.
University of Guelph
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22.
University of New Brunswick
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23.
Space Science Institute
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24.
University of California, Davis
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25.
Jet Propulsion Lab
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26.
Space Research Institute
Abstract
Diagenetic silica enrichment in fracture‐associated halos that crosscut lacustrine and unconformably overlying aeolian sedimentary bedrock is observed on the lower north slope of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater, Mars. The diagenetic silica enrichment is colocated with detrital silica enrichment observed in the lacustrine bedrock yet extends into a considerably younger, unconformably draping aeolian sandstone, implying that diagenetic silica enrichment postdates the detrital silica enrichment. A causal connection between the detrital and diagenetic silica enrichment implies that water was present in the subsurface of Gale crater long after deposition of the lacustrine sediments and that it mobilized detrital amorphous silica and precipitated it along fractures in the overlying bedrock. Although absolute timing is uncertain, the observed diagenesis likely represents some of the most recent groundwater activity in Gale crater and suggests that the timescale of potential habitability extended considerably beyond the time that the lacustrine sediments of Aeolis Mons were deposited.
Additional Information
© 2017 American Geophysical Union. Issue Online: 24 June 2017; Version of Record online: 30 May 2017; Accepted manuscript online: 26 April 2017; Manuscript accepted: 24 April 2017; Manuscript revised: 22 April 2017; Manuscript received: 02 March 2017. This research was supported by the NASA MSL Mission, operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. We acknowledge the support of the MSL engineering and operations staff. J.F. thanks the Villum Foundation, K.M.K. and M.B.M. thank the Danish Council for Independent Research (4002‐00292), J.C.B. and S.P.S. thank UKSA (ST/P002110/1), and C.C.B. thanks STFC (ST/N50421X/1) for support. Data from the MSL mission are available online (http://pds‐geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/). ChemCam and APXS derived data products used in this work are attached as supporting information.Attached Files
Published - 2017GL073323.pdf
Supplemental Material - grl555851-sup-0001-supplementary.pdf
Files
2017GL073323.pdf
Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 105212
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20200902-091425199
Funding
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- Villum Foundation
- Danish Council for Independent Research
- 4002‐00292
- United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA)
- ST/P002110/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- ST/N50421X/1
Dates
- Created
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2020-09-08Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
Caltech Custom Metadata
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)