Compositionally and density stratified igneous terrain in Jezero crater, Mars
Name
sciadv.abo3399.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.94 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
83393535c54fe67d5a21d1bdcb7bc9a6
Author(s)
Bosak, Tanja
Weiss, Benjamin
Date Issued
2022
Journal
Science Advances
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Bosak, Tanja and Weiss, Benjamin. 2022. "Compositionally and density stratified igneous terrain in Jezero crater, Mars." Science Advances, 8 (34).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Before Perseverance, Jezero crater’s floor was variably hypothesized to have a lacustrine, lava, volcanic airfall, or aeolian origin. SuperCam observations in the first 286 Mars days on Mars revealed a volcanic and intrusive terrain with compositional and density stratification. The dominant lithology along the traverse is basaltic, with plagioclase enrichment in stratigraphically higher locations. Stratigraphically lower, layered rocks are richer in normative pyroxene. The lowest observed unit has the highest inferred density and is olivine-rich with coarse (1.5 millimeters) euhedral, relatively unweathered grains, suggesting a cumulate origin. This is the first martian cumulate and shows similarities to martian meteorites, which also express olivine disequilibrium. Alteration materials including carbonates, sulfates, perchlorates, hydrated silicates, and iron oxides are pervasive but low in abundance, suggesting relatively brief lacustrine conditions. Orbital observations link the Jezero floor lithology to the broader Nili-Syrtis region, suggesting that density-driven compositional stratification is a regional characteristic.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIADV.ABO3399
