Depositional and Diagenetic Sulfates of Hogwallow Flats and Yori Pass, Jezero Crater: Evaluating Preservation Potential of Environmental Indicators and Possible Biosignatures From Past Martian Surface Waters and Groundwaters
Name
JGR Planets - 2024 - Benison - Depositional and Diagenetic Sulfates of Hogwallow Flats and Yori Pass Jezero Crater .pdf
Description
Published version
Size
3.68 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5a55ac6cdc980b0b46b03bb19946e122
Date Issued
February 6, 2024
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Benison, K. C., Gill, K. K., Sharma, S., Siljeström, S., Zawaski, M., Bosak, T., et al. (2024). Depositional and diagenetic sulfates of Hogwallow Flats and Yori Pass, Jezero crater: Evaluating preservation potential of environmental indicators and possible biosignatures from past Martian surface waters and groundwaters. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2023JE008155.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has examined and sampled sulfate‐rich clastic rocks from the Hogwallow Flats member at Hawksbill Gap and the Yori Pass member at Cape Nukshak. Both strata are located on the Jezero crater western fan front, are lithologically and stratigraphically similar, and have been assigned to the Shenandoah formation. In situ analyses demonstrate that these are fine‐grained sandstones composed of phyllosilicates, hematite, Ca‐sulfates, Fe‐Mg‐sulfates, ferric sulfates, and possibly chloride salts. Sulfate minerals are found both as depositional grains and diagenetic features, including intergranular cement and vein‐ and vug‐cements. Here, we describe the possibility of various sulfate phases to preserve potential biosignatures and the record of paleoenvironmental conditions in fluid and solid inclusions, based on findings from analog sulfate‐rich rocks on Earth. The samples collected from these outcrops, Hazeltop and Bearwallow from Hogwallow Flats, and Kukaklek from Yori Pass, should be examined for such potential biosignatures and environmental indicators upon return to Earth.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
10.1029/2023je008155
