Journal article
Copper enrichments in the Kimberley formation in Gale crater, Mars: Evidence for a Cu deposit at the source
Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.321(C), pp.736-751
03/15/2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2018.12.015
Abstract
•Quantification of copper using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS).•Copper occurrence in fractures, potentially related to adsorption on Mn-oxides.•Copper in sedimentary units suggesting upstream hydrothermal processes that formed a Cu-deposit.
Copper quantification with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) using a univariate calibration model enables the ChemCam instrument onboard the Curiosity rover to measure unusually elevated Cu concentrations in potassic sandstones and Mn-oxide-bearing fracture fills in the Kimberley region of Gale crater, Mars. Mostly, the copper phases occurring in sedimentary bedrock are associated with detrital silicates, including feldspars, pyroxenes and K-phyllosilicates, likely coming from a potassic igneous source near the northern crater rim, while those present in the fractures are likely adsorbed on the surface of manganese oxides. These two different mineralogical associations imply at least two distinct processes: Cu enrichment in bedrock at the source, likely during crystallization of the igneous silicates, and adsorption of Cu on Mn-oxides precipitated from groundwater that encountered oxidizing conditions within fractures in the bedrock. The potassic sediments enriched in copper may be evidence of a porphyry copper deposit or an impact-induced hydrothermal deposit in the source region.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Copper enrichments in the Kimberley formation in Gale crater, Mars: Evidence for a Cu deposit at the source
- Creators
- Valérie Payré - Rice UniversityCécile Fabre - Université de LorraineViolaine Sautter - Muséum National des Histoires Naturelles (MNHN), 57 rue cuvier, Paris 75005, FranceAgnès Cousin - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieNicolas Mangold - Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesLaetitia Le Deit - Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, 2 rue de la houssinière, Nantes Cédex 3 44322, FranceOlivier Forni - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieWalter Goetz - Max Planck SocietyRoger C. Wiens - Los Alamos National LaboratoryOlivier Gasnault - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologiePierre-Yves Meslin - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieJérémie Lasue - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieWilliam Rapin - California Institute of TechnologyBen Clark - Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut St, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301, United StatesMarion Nachon - University of California, DavisNina L. Lanza - Los Alamos National LaboratorySylvestre Maurice - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.321(C), pp.736-751
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.icarus.2018.12.015
- ISSN
- 0019-1035
- eISSN
- 1090-2643
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/501100004794, name: CNRS; DOI: 10.13039/501100002830, name: CNES; name: NASA's Mars Exploration Program
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/15/2019
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984295024002771
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