CaltechAUTHORS
Published December 2006 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

Sedimentary textures formed by aqueous processes, Erebus crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 2. ROR icon Cornell University
  • 3. ROR icon United States Geological Survey
  • 4. ROR icon Harvard University
  • 5. ROR icon Stony Brook University
  • 6. ROR icon National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • 7. ROR icon Washington University in St. Louis
  • 8. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab

Abstract

New observations at Erebus crater (Olympia outcrop) by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity between sols 671 and 735 (a sol is a martian day) indicate that a diverse suite of primary and penecontemporaneous sedimentary structures is preserved in sulfate-rich bedrock. Centimeter-scale trough (festoon) cross-lamination is abundant, and is better expressed and thicker than previously described examples. Postdepositional shrinkage cracks in the same outcrop are interpreted to have formed in response to desiccation. Considered collectively, this suite of sedimentary structures provides strong support for the involvement of liquid water during accumulation of sedimentary rocks at Meridiani Planum.

Additional Information

© 2006 Geological Society of America, Inc. Accepted 3 August 2006. Received 18 May 2006. Revision received 1 August 2006. We gratefully acknowledge the entire Mars Exploration Rover (MER) science and engineering teams for making this investigation possible. We thank Mark Rosiek, Donna Galuszka, and Bonnie Redding for constructing the microscope imager digital elevation model of upper Overgaard. Dawn Sumner provided valuable discussion, and Jim Cowher helped with field work at terrestrial analog sites. We also thank Philip Allen, Mike Leeder, and an anonymous referee for helpful reviews. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded the overall MER project.

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
50345
DOI
10.1130/G22985A.1
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20141013-073829927

Related works

Describes
10.1130/G22985A.1 (DOI)

Funding

NASA

Dates

Created
2014-10-13
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-11-30
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)