Centimeter to decimeter hollow concretions and voids in Gale Crater sediments, Mars

Roger C. Wiens; David M. Rubin; Walter Goetz; Alberto G. Fairen; Susanne P. Schwenzer; Jeffrey R. Johnson; Ralph Milliken; Ben Clark; Nicolas Mangold; Kathryn M. Stack; Dorothy Oehler; Scott Rowland; Marjorie Chan; David Vaniman; Sylvestre Maurice; Olivier Gasnault; William Rapin; Susanne Schroeder; Sam Clegg; Olivier Forni; Diana Blaney; Agnes Cousin; Valerie Payre; Cecile Fabre; Marion Nachon; Stephane Le Mouelic; Violaine Sautter; Stephen Johnstone; Fred Calef; Ashwin R. Vasavada; John P. Grotzinger

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.02.003

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Centimeter to decimeter hollow concretions and voids in Gale Crater sediments, Mars

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Centimeter to decimeter hollow concretions and voids in Gale Crater sediments, Mars

Roger C. Wiens, David M. Rubin, Walter Goetz, Alberto G. Fairen, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Ralph Milliken, Ben Clark, Nicolas Mangold, Kathryn M. Stack, …

Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.289(C), pp.144-156

06/01/2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2017.02.003

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Abstract

Voids and hollow spheroids between 1 and 23 cm in diameter occur at several locations along the traverse of the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars. These hollow spherical features are significantly different from anything observed in previous landed missions. The voids appear in dark-toned, rough-textured outcrops, most notably at Point Lake (sols 302-305) and Twin Cairns Island (sol 343). Point Lake displays both voids and cemented spheroids in close proximity; other locations show one or the other form. The spheroids have 1-4 mm thick walls and appear relatively dark-toned in all cases, some with a reddish hue. Only one hollow spheroid (Winnipesaukee, sol 653) was analyzed for composition, appearing mafic (Fe-rich), in contrast to the relatively felsic host rock. The interior surface of the spheroid appears to have a similar composition to the exterior with the possible exceptions of being more hydrated and slightly depleted in Fe and K. Origins of the spheroids as Martian tektites or volcanic bombs appear unlikely due to their hollow and relatively fragile nature and the absence of in-place clearly igneous rocks. A more likely explanation to both the voids and the hollow spheroids is reaction of reduced iron with oxidizing groundwater followed by some re-precipitation as cemented rind concretions at a chemical reaction front. Although some terrestrial concretion analogs are produced from a precursor siderite or pyrite, diagenetic minerals could also be direct precipitates for other terrestrial concretions. The Gale sediments differ from terrestrial sandstones in their high initial iron content, perhaps facilitating a higher occurrence of such diagenetic reactions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Title: Subtitle: Centimeter to decimeter hollow concretions and voids in Gale Crater sediments, Mars
Creators: Roger C. Wiens - Los Alamos National Laboratory
David M. Rubin - University of California, Santa Cruz
Walter Goetz - Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Alberto G. Fairen - Cornell University
Susanne P. Schwenzer - The Open University
Jeffrey R. Johnson - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Ralph Milliken - Brown University
Ben Clark
Nicolas Mangold - Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences
Kathryn M. Stack - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dorothy Oehler - Johnson Space Center
Scott Rowland - University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Marjorie Chan - University of Utah
David Vaniman - Planetary Science Institute
Sylvestre Maurice - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Olivier Gasnault - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
William Rapin - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Susanne Schroeder - California Institute of Technology
Sam Clegg - NASA, Johnson Space Ctr, Houston, TX USA
Olivier Forni - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Diana Blaney - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Agnes Cousin - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Valerie Payre - Université de Lorraine
Cecile Fabre - Université de Lorraine
Marion Nachon - University of California, Davis
Stephane Le Mouelic - Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences
Violaine Sautter - IMPMC, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Paris, France
Stephen Johnstone - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Fred Calef - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Ashwin R. Vasavada - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
John P. Grotzinger - California Institute of Technology
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.289(C), pp.144-156
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2017.02.003
ISSN: 0019-1035
eISSN: 1090-2643
Publisher: Elsevier
Number of pages: 13
Grant note: NASA Mars Exploration Program in the US Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers Nantes Atlantique (OSUNA) in France ST/J005193/1 / Science and Technology Facilities Council; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/J005339/1 / UK Space Agency GO 2288/1-1 / Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG); German Research Foundation (DFG) UKSA in the UK 307496 / European Research Council Starting; European Research Council (ERC) Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France; Centre National D'etudes Spatiales Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU) in France Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Language: English
Date published: 06/01/2017
Academic Unit: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984295023602771

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