Visible, Near-Infrared, and Mid-Infrared Spectral Characterization of Hawaiian Fumarolic Alteration Near Kilauea's December 1974 Flow: Implications for Spectral Discrimination of Alteration Environments on Mars

The December 1974 flow in the SW rift zone at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, has been established as a Mars analog due to its physical, chemical, and morphological properties, as well as its interaction with the outgassing plume from the primary Kilauea caldera. We focus on a solfatara site that consists of hydrothermally altered basalt and alteration products deposited in and around a passively degassing volcanic vent situated directly adjacent to the December 1974 flow on its northwest side. Reflectance spectra are acquired in the visible/near-infrared (VNIR) region and emission spectra in the mid-infrared (MIR) range to better understand the spectral properties of hydrothermally altered materials. The VNIR signatures are consistent with silica, Fe-oxides, and sulfates (Ca, Fe). Primarily silica-dominated spectral signatures are observed in the MIR and changes in spectral features between samples appear to be driven by grain size effects in this wavelength range. The nature of the sample coating and the thermal emission signatures exhibit variations that may be correlated with distance from the vent. Chemical analyses indicate that most surfaces are characterized by silica-rich material, Fe-oxides, and sulfates (Ca, Fe). The silica and Fe-oxide-dominated MIR/VNIR spectral signatures exhibited by the hydrothermally altered material in this study are distinct from the sulfate-dominated spectral signatures exhibited by previously studied low-temperature aqueous acid-sulfate weathered basaltic glass. This likely reflects a difference in open vs. closed system weathering, where mobile cations are removed from the altered surfaces in the fumarolic setting. This work provides a unique infrared spectral library that includes martian analog materials that were altered in an active terrestrial solfatara (hydrothermal) setting. Hydrothermal environments are of particular interest as they potentially indicate habitable conditions. Key constraints on the habitability and astrobiological potential of ancient aqueous environments are provided through detection and interpretation of secondary mineral assemblages; thus, spectral detection of fumarolic alteration assemblages observed from this study on Mars would suggest a region that could have hosted a habitable environment

Visible and Near-IR Reflectance Spectra of Smectite Acquired Under Dry Conditions for Interpretation of Martian Surface Mineralogy

Visible and near-IR (VNIR) spectra from the MEx OMEGA and the MRO CRISM hyper-spectral imaging instruments have spectral features associated with the H2O molecule and M OH functional groups (M = Mg, Fe, Al, and Si). Mineralogical assignments of martian spectral features are made on the basis of laboratory VNIR spectra, which were often acquired under ambient (humid) conditions. Smectites like nontronite, saponite, and montmorillionite have interlayer H2O that is exchangeable with their environment, and we have acquired smectite reflectance spectra under dry environmental conditions for interpretation of martian surface mineralogy. We also obtained chemical, Moessbauer (MB), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric (TG) data to understand variations in spectral properties. VNIR spectra were recorded in humid lab air at 25-35C, in a dynamic dry N2 atmosphere (50-150 ppmv H2O) after exposing the smectite samples (5 nontronites, 3 montmorillionites, and 1 saponite) to that atmosphere for up to approximately l000 hr each at 25-35C, approximately 105C, and approximately 215C, and after re-exposure to humid lab air. Heating at 105C and 215C for approximately 1000 hr is taken as a surrogate for geologic time scales at lower temperatures. Upon exposure to dry N2, the position and intensity of spectral features associated with M-OH were relatively insensitive to the dry environment, and the spectral features associated with H2O (e.g., approximately 1.90 micrometers) decreased in intensity and are sometimes not detectable by the end of the 215C heating step. The position and intensity of H2O spectral features recovered upon re-exposure to lab air. XRD data show interlayer collapse for the nontronites and Namontmorillionites, with the interlayer remaining collapsed for the latter after re-exposure to lab air. The interlayer did not collapse for the saponite and Ca-montmorillionite. TG data show that the concentration of H2O derived from structural OH was invariant to the dry N2 treatment for saponite and the montmorillionites, but the nontronites had additional structural OH after treatment. Upon exposure to dry N2, the VNIR spectra also acquired a red slope with decreasing albedo between approximately 0.4 and approximately 2.0 micrometers. The magnitude of the effects covaries with exposure time to dry N2 and heating temperature. Upon re-exposure to lab air, the slope and albedo do not completely recover to pre-exposure values. MB data show that these effects do not result from partial reduction of ferric to ferrous iron, and TG data show they do not result from loss of structural OH. Possible explanations include formation of small clusters of (superparamagnetic) ferric oxide and reduced smectite crystallinity. The difference in spectral properties between spectra acquired in humid lab air and under dry conditions are consequential for interpretation of CRISM and OMEGA spectra. For example, nontronite by itself and not nontronite plus ferrihydrite can account for the red spectral slope in martian spectra where nontronite is indicated by the Fe-OH spectral features

Intraplate magmatism related to opening of the southern Iapetus Ocean: Cambrian Wichita igneous province in the Southern Oklahoma rift zone

Southern Oklahoma and adjacent parts of Texas contain an extensive igneous province emplaced during Early Cambrian rifting within the Southern Oklahoma rift zone. The rift zone was initiated in association with the opening of the southern Iapetus Ocean during Rodinia supercontinent breakup and later became the site of a series of linked uplifts and basins as a result of late Paleozoic inversion. Igneous rocks within the rift are referred to as the Wichita province and are present mostly in the subsurface, with critical exposures located in the Wichita and Arbuckle Mountains in southwestern and southern Oklahoma. Wells drilled into basement in the region provide a wealth of information on the distribution and relations of the major igneous units in the upper crust, and geophysical data provide important constraints on deeper levels of the rift zone. The upper parts of the igneous rift fill comprise the Carlton Rhyolite Group, which has an estimated subsurface areal extent of ~ 40,000 km², and the related Wichita sheet granites, which intrude the base of the rhyolite succession. These rocks have A-type characteristics and were emplaced after intrusion, tilting and uplift of a large tholeiitic layered mafic complex; smaller bodies of gabbro also intruded the layered complex after it was tilted. U−Pb zircon and [superscript 40]Ar/[superscript 39]Ar geochronology indicates the felsic rocks and at least some of the mafic units were emplaced in a relatively narrow time frame at ~ 539−530 Ma. Basalts and intermediate lavas are present only in the subsurface. Our new work shows these lavas to have tholeiitic to mildly alkaline compositions and to be more extensive than previously realized, forming thick sequences that both underlie and are intercalated with the rhyolites.A suite of late diabase dikes also cuts the rhyolites and granites, indicating that mafic magma was supplied to the rift throughout its magmatic history. Geophysical data show that an enormous mass of mafic rock occupies deeper parts of the rift, extending to depths of at least ~10 km beneath the surface. The total volume of igneous rock emplaced within the rift is estimated to be in excess of 250,000 km³. Detailed studies of Carlton Rhyolite exposures in the Wichita Mountains, complemented by studies of drill cuttings from basement wells, indicate that the rhyolites comprise a series of lava flows up to 400 m thick stacked on top of each other or separated by intervals of rhyolitic volcaniclastic deposits. The generally limited exposures of these rhyolite lavas in the Wichita Mountains are interpreted to be remnants of laterally extensive flow units similar to those documented from other A-type felsic provinces. Trace element contents define three distinct geochemical groups of rhyolite, suggesting derivation from three different sources or magma reservoirs. Flows belonging to the different geochemical groups are intercalated in the Wichita Mountains exposures, which may indicate that laterally extensive flows from separate magma chambers came to rest on top of one another during accumulation of the rhyolitic volcanic pile

The Canadian space agency planetary analogue materials suite

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) recently commissioned the development of a suite of over fifty well-characterized planetary analogue materials. These materials are terrestrial rocks and minerals that are similar to those known or suspected to occur on the lunar or martian surfaces. These include: Mars analogue sedimentary, hydrothermal, igneous and low-temperature alteration rock suites; lunar analogue basaltic and anorthositic rock suites; and a generic impactite rock suite from a variety of terrestrial impact structures. Representative thin sections of the materials have been characterized by optical microscopy and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Reflectance spectra have been collected in the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared, covering 0.2-25. μm. Thermal infrared emission spectra were collected from 5 to 50. μm. Raman spectra with 532. nm excitation, and laser-induced fluorescence spectra with 405. nm excitation were also measured. Bulk chemical analysis was carried out using X-ray fluorescence, with Fe valence determined by wet chemistry. Chemical and mineralogical data were collected using a field-portable Terra XRD-XRF instrument similar to CheMin on the MSL Curiosity rover. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) data similar to those measured by ChemCam on MSL were collected for powdered samples, cut slab surfaces, and as depth profiles into weathered surfaces where present. Three-dimensional laser camera images of rock textures were collected for selected samples.The CSA intends to make available sample powders (<45. μm and 45-1000. μm grain sizes), thin sections, and bulk rock samples, and all analytical data collected in the initial characterisation study to the broader planetary science community.Aiming to complement existing planetary analogue rock and mineral libraries, the CSA suite represents a new resource for planetary scientists and engineers. We envision many potential applications for these materials in the definition, development and testing of new analytical instruments for use in planetary missions, as well as possible calibration and ground-truthing of remote sensing data sets. These materials may also be useful as reference materials for cross-calibration between different instruments and laboratories. Comparison of the analytical data for selected