Mineralogy of a Mudstone at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

H. E. Newsom (1) , R. T. Downs (2) , S. Maurice (3) , P. Sarrazin (4) , A. S. Yen (5) , J. M. Morookian (5) , J. D. Farmer (6) , K. Stack (7) , R. E. Milliken (8) , B. L. Ehlmann (5, 7) , D. Y. Sumner (9) , G. Berger (3) , J. A. Crisp (5) , J. A. Hurowitz (10) , R. Anderson (5) , D. J. Des Marais (11) , E. M. Stolper (7) , K. S. Edgett , S. Gupta (12) , N. Spanovich (7) , Msl Sci Team , Cécile Fabre (13) , D. T. Vaniman (14) , D. L. Bish (15) , D. W. Ming (16) , T. F. Bristow (11) , R. V. Morris (16) , D. F. Blake (11) , S. J. Chipera , S. M. Morrison (2) , A. H. Treiman (17) , E. B. Rampe (16) , M. Rice (7) , C. N. Achilles , J. P. Grotzinger (7) , S. M. Mclennan (10) , J. Williams (1) , J. F. Bell (6)

1 IOM - Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque]
2 Department of Geosciences [University of Arizona]
3 IRAP - Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie
4 SETI Institute
5 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
6 SESE - ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration
7 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena]
8 Department of Geological Sciences [Providence]
9 EPS - Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley]
10 Department of Geosciences [Stony Brook]
11 ARC - NASA Ames Research Center
12 Department of Earth Science and Technology [Imperial College London]
13 GeoRessources
14 PSI - Planetary Science Institute [Tucson]
15 Department of Geological Sciences [Bloomington]
16 ARES - Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science
17 LPI - Lunar and Planetary Institute [Houston]

Sedimentary rocks at Yellowknife Bay (Gale crater) on Mars include mudstone sampled by the Curiosity rover. The samples, John Klein and Cumberland, contain detrital basaltic minerals, calcium sulfates, iron oxide or hydroxides, iron sulfides, amorphous material, and trioctahedral smectites. The John Klein smectite has basal spacing of similar to 10 angstroms, indicating little interlayer hydration. The Cumberland smectite has basal spacing at both similar to 13.2 and similar to 10 angstroms. The larger spacing suggests a partially chloritized interlayer or interlayer magnesium or calcium facilitating H2O retention. Basaltic minerals in the mudstone are similar to those in nearby eolian deposits. However, the mudstone has far less Fe-forsterite, possibly lost with formation of smectite plus magnetite. Late Noachian/Early Hesperian or younger age indicates that clay mineral formation on Mars extended beyond Noachian time.

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

H. E. Newsom, R. T. Downs, S. Maurice, P. Sarrazin, A. S. Yen, et al.. Mineralogy of a Mudstone at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars. Science, 2014, 343 (6169), ⟨10.1126/science.1243480⟩. ⟨hal-01303672⟩