LEAVING GLEN TORRIDON: BEDROCK GEOCHEMISTRY MEASURED BY CHEMCAM EN ROUTE TO THE SULFATE UNIT OF GALE CRATER - Archive ouverte HAL
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2021

LEAVING GLEN TORRIDON: BEDROCK GEOCHEMISTRY MEASURED BY CHEMCAM EN ROUTE TO THE SULFATE UNIT OF GALE CRATER

Valerie Fox
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 1008569
Roger C. Wiens

Résumé

Since January 2019, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has been exploring the Glen Torridon (GT) region of Gale crater, which corresponds to the topographic trough between the Vera Rubin ridge and the Greenheugh pediment (Fig. 1). From orbit, this region stands out due to the rela-tively strong near-infrared signatures of clay minerals [1,2]. The data collected on the ground by Curiosity have allowed the MSL team to confirm and quantify the presence of these clay minerals [3], to characterize their organic content [4], and to document in detail their geochemical and sedimentological settings [5]. In particular, the bedrock chemistry measured by ChemCam shows elevated values of the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) throughout most of Glen Torridon [6,7], which indicates an open-system type of alteration [8]. In addition, the ChemCam observations suggest the presence of illite in the fine-grained rocks [9] and reveal a possible relationship between grain size and geochemical variations [10]. Finally, they show that the light-toned rocks located just below the uncon-formity at the base of the Greenheugh pediment (and drilled at Hutton; Fig. 1) are associated with “anoma-lous” bedrock compositions that may be related to a late-stage diagenetic event at Gale [7]. Here, we report the findings of the ChemCam instrument during the last stretch of the GT campaign, from Bloodstone Hill to the Sands of Forvie (Fig. 1). At the conference, we will also present the data acquired in early 2021, as Curiosity approaches the transition into the sulfate-bearing unit.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
1858.pdf (326.21 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-03143154 , version 1 (16-02-2021)

Identifiants

Citer

Erwin Dehouck, Agnes Cousin, Nicolas Mangold, Jens Frydenvang, Olivier Gasnault, et al.. LEAVING GLEN TORRIDON: BEDROCK GEOCHEMISTRY MEASURED BY CHEMCAM EN ROUTE TO THE SULFATE UNIT OF GALE CRATER. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Mar 2021, The Woodlands, United States. ⟨hal-03143154⟩
122 Consultations
91 Téléchargements

Partager

More