Silica coatings on young Hawaiian basalts: Constraints on formation mechanism from silicon isotopes

Young basalts from Kilauea, on the big island of Hawai’i, frequently feature visually striking, white, orange and blue coatings, consisting of a 10-50 μm layer of amorphous silica, capped, in some cases, by a ~1 μm layer of Fe-Ti oxide [1]. The coatings provide an opportunity to study the early onset of acid-sulfate weathering, a process common to many volcanic environments. Silicon isotopes fractionate with the precipitation of clays and opaline silica, and have been demonstrated to be an indicator of weathering intensity [2,3]. Here we report in situ measurements of δ^(30)_Si of the silica coatings and their implications for coating formation

Spectral, mineralogical, and geochemical variations across Home Plate, Gusev Crater, Mars indicate high and low temperature alteration

Over the last ~ 3 years in Gusev Crater, Mars, the Spirit rover observed coherent variations in color, mineralogy, and geochemistry across Home Plate, an ~ 80 m-diameter outcrop of basaltic tephra. Observations of Home Plate from orbit and from the summit of Husband Hill reveal clear differences in visible/near-infrared (VNIR) colors between its eastern and western regions that are consistent with mineralogical compositions indicated by Mössbauer spectrometer (MB) and by Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES). Pyroxene and magnetite dominate the east side, while olivine, nanophase Fe oxide (npOx) and glass are more abundant on the western side. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) observations reveal that eastern Home Plate has higher Si/Mg, Al, Zn, Ni, and K, while Cl and Br are higher in the west. We propose that these variations are the result of two distinct alteration regimes that may or may not be temporally related: a localized, higher temperature recrystallization and alteration of the east side of Home Plate and lower temperature alteration of the western side that produced npOx

Discordant K-Ar and Young Exposure Dates for the Windjana sandstone, Kimberley, Gale Crater, Mars

K-Ar and noble gas surface exposure age measurements were carried out on the Windjana sandstone, Kimberley region, Gale Crater, Mars, by using the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument on the Curiosity rover. The sandstone is unusually rich in sanidine, as determined by CheMin X-ray diffraction, contributing to the high K_2O concentration of 3.09 ± 0.20 wt % measured by Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer analysis. A sandstone aliquot heated to ~915°C yielded a K-Ar age of 627 ± 50 Ma. Reheating this aliquot yielded no additional Ar. A second aliquot heated in the same way yielded a much higher K-Ar age of 1710 ± 110 Ma. These data suggest incomplete Ar extraction from a rock with a K-Ar age older than 1710 Ma. Incomplete extraction at ~900°C is not surprising for a rock with a large fraction of K carried by Ar-retentive K-feldspar. Likely, variability in the exact temperature achieved by the sample from run to run, uncertainties in sample mass estimation, and possible mineral fractionation during transport and storage prior to analysis may contribute to these discrepant data. Cosmic ray exposure ages from ^3He and ^(21)Ne in the two aliquots are minimum values given the possibility of incomplete extraction. However, the general similarity between the ^3He (57 ± 49 and 18 ± 32 Ma, mean 30 Ma) and ^(21)Ne (2 ± 32 and 83 ± 24 Ma, mean 54 Ma) exposure ages provides no evidence for underextraction. The implied erosion rate at the Kimberley location is similar to that reported at the nearby Yellowknife Bay outcrop

Sorting out Compositional Trends in Sedimentary Rocks of the Bradbury Group (Aeolus Palus), Gale Crater, Mars

Sedimentary rocks are composed of detrital grains derived from source rocks, which are altered by chemical weathering, sorted during transport, and cemented during diagenesis. Fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary rocks of the Bradbury group, observed on the floor of Gale crater by the Curiosity rover during its first 860 Martian solar days, show trends in bulk chemistry that are consistent with sorting of mineral grains during transport. The Bradbury group rocks are uniquely suited for sedimentary provenance analysis because they appear to have experienced negligible cation loss (i.e., open-system chemical weathering) at the scale of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer bulk chemistry analyses based on low Chemical Index of Alteration values and successful modeling of >90% of the (volatile-free) targets as mixtures of primary igneous minerals. Significant compositional variability between targets is instead correlated to grain-size and textural characteristics of the rocks; the coarsest-grained targets are enriched in Al_2O_3, SiO_2, and Na_2O, whereas the finer-grained targets are enriched in mafic components. This is consistent with geochemical and mineralogical modeling of the segregation of coarse-grained plagioclase from finer-grained mafic minerals (e.g., olivine and pyroxenes), which would be expected from hydrodynamic sorting of the detritus from mechanical breakdown of subalkaline plagioclase-phyric basalts. While the presence of a distinctive K_2O-rich stratigraphic interval shows that input from at least one distinctive alkali-feldspar-rich protolith contributed to basin fill, the dominant compositional trends in the Bradbury group are consistent with sorting of detrital minerals during transport from relatively homogeneous plagioclase-phyric basalts

A New Approach to In-situ K-Ar Geochronology

The development of an in-situ geochronology capability for Mars and other planetary surfaces has the potential to fundamentally change our understanding of the evolution of terrestrial bodies in the Solar System. For Mars specifically, many of our most basic scientific questions about the geologic history of the planet require knowledge of the absolute time at which an event or process took place on its surface. For instance, what was the age and rate of early Martian climate change recorded in the mineralogy and morphology of surface lithologies (e.g., [1])? In-situ ages from a few select locations within the globally established stratigraphy of Mars would be transformative, enabling us to place direct chronologic constraints on the timing and rates of impact, volcanic, sedimentary, and aqueous processes on the Martian surface

Sulfate Deposition in Regolith Exposed in Trenches on the Plains Between the Spirit Landing Site and Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater, Mars

During its exploration within Gusev crater between sol 01 and sol 158, the Spirit rover dug three trenches (Fig. 1) to expose the subsurface regolith [1, 2, 9]. Laguna trench (approx. 6 cm deep, approx.203 m from the rim of Bonneville crater) was dug in Laguna Hollow at the boundary of the impact ejecta from Bonneville crater and the surrounding plains. The Big Hole trench (approx. 6-7 cm deep) and The Boroughs trench (approx. 11 cm deep) were dug in the plains between the Bonneville crater and the Columbia Hills (approx.556 m and approx.1698 m from the rim of Bonneville crater respectively). The top, wall and floor regolith of the three trenches were investigated using the entire set of Athena scientific instruments [10]

Authigenesis/Diagenesis of the Murray Formation Mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has been exploring sedimentary deposits in Gale crater since August, 2012. The rover has traversed up section through approximately 150 m of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments (Bradbury group and overlying Mount Sharp group). The Murray formation lies at the base of the Mt. Sharp group and has been interpreted to be a finely laminated mudstone likely deposited in a subaqueous lacustrine environment. Four drill samples from several elevations in the Murray fm have been acquired by the rover's sampling system and delivered to the CheMin XRD instrument. The lower section of the Murray fm contains 2:1 phyllosilicate(s), hematite, jarosite, XRD amorphous materials, and primary basaltic minerals. Further up section, the Murray fm contains magnetite, cristobalite, tridymite, abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials along with plagioclase and K-feldspars. Murray formation materials appear to have been altered under an open hydrologic system based on the bulk chemistry of these materials measured by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The 2:1 phyllosilicate only occurs in the lowermost section of the Murray fm and may be detrital or formed during authigenesis of Murray fm materials, similar to the Fe-saponite and magnetite detected in a mudstone in the Yellowknife Bay fm near Curiosity's landing site (stratigraphically at the base of the Bradbury group). The occurrence of jarosite and hematite in the lower section indicates an acidic diagenetic event. These phases may have formed via several acidic alteration mechanisms, including (1) oxidative weathering of mafic igneous rocks containing sulfides; (2) sulfuric acid weathering of Fe-bearing phases; and (3) near-neutral pH subsurface solutions rich in Fe2(+) that were rapidly oxidized to Fe3(+), which produced excess acidity. The transition from abundant hematite in the lowermost Murray fm to magnetite moving up section may indicate changes in lake chemistry, i.e., variable redox conditions, possibly during authigenesis or subsequent diagenetic events. Tridymite, a high temperature mineral, (and possibly cristobalite) is detrital, potentially deposited in a lake from a distal silicic volcanic rock source or from crustal materials present prior to the Gale Crater impact event. Abundant Si-rich XRD amorphous materials in the upper sections of the Murray fm may be detrital or an aqueous alteration product of primary igneous phases and phyllosilicates. Curiosity's science team is still deciphering the authigenesis and diagenetic events that formed the Murray fm. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the formation suggest a complicated history with several (many?) episodes of aqueous alteration under a variety of environmental conditions

Virtual Northern Analysis of the Human Genome

BACKGROUND: We applied the Virtual Northern technique to human brain mRNA to systematically measure human mRNA transcript lengths on a genome-wide scale. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used separation by gel electrophoresis followed by hybridization to cDNA microarrays to measure 8,774 mRNA transcript lengths representing at least 6,238 genes at high (>90%) confidence. By comparing these transcript lengths to the Refseq and H-Invitational full-length cDNA databases, we found that nearly half of our measurements appeared to represent novel transcript variants. Comparison of length measurements determined by hybridization to different cDNAs derived from the same gene identified clones that potentially correspond to alternative transcript variants. We observed a close linear relationship between ORF and mRNA lengths in human mRNAs, identical in form to the relationship we had previously identified in yeast. Some functional classes of protein are encoded by mRNAs whose untranslated regions (UTRs) tend to be longer or shorter than average; these functional classes were similar in both human and yeast. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Human transcript diversity is extensive and largely unannotated. Our length dataset can be used as a new criterion for judging the completeness of cDNAs and annotating mRNA sequences. Similar relationships between the lengths of the UTRs in human and yeast mRNAs and the functions of the proteins they encode suggest that UTR sequences serve an important regulatory role among eukaryotes

Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory mission: Bradbury Landing to Yellowknife Bay and beyond

The Mars Science Laboratory mission reached Bradbury Landing in August 2012. In its first 500 sols, the rover Curiosity was commissioned and began its investigation of the habitability of past and present environments within Gale Crater. Curiosity traversed eastward toward Glenelg, investigating a boulder with a highly alkaline basaltic composition, encountering numerous exposures of outcropping pebble conglomerate, and sampling aeolian sediment at Rocknest and lacustrine mudstones at Yellowknife Bay. On sol 324, the mission turned its focus southwest, beginning a year‐long journey to the lower reaches of Mt. Sharp, with brief stops at the Darwin and Cooperstown waypoints. The unprecedented complexity of the rover and payload systems posed challenges to science operations, as did a number of anomalies. Operational processes were revised to include additional opportunities for advance planning by the science and engineering teams

Constraining the Texture and Composition of Pore-Filling Cements at Gale Crater, Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has encountered a wide variety of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvio-lacuestrine sequences at the base of Gale Crater. The presence of sedimentary rocks requires that initial sediments underwent diagenesis and were lithified. Lithification involves sediment compaction, cementation, and re-crystallization (or authigenic) processes. Analysis of the texture and composition of the cement can reveal the environmental conditions when the cements were deposited, enabling better understanding of early environments present within Gale Crater. The first step in lithification is sediment compaction. The Gale crater sediments do not show evidence for extensive compaction prior to cementation; the Sheepbed mudstone in Yellowknife Bay (YKB) has preserved void spaces ("hollow nodules"), indicating that sediments were cemented around the hollow prior to compaction, and conglomerates show imbrication, indicating minimal grain reorganization prior to lithification. Furthermore, assuming the maximum burial depth of these sediments is equivalent to the depth of Gale Crater, the sediments were never under more than 1 kb of pressure, and assuming a 15 C/km thermal gradient in the late Noachian, the maximum temperature of diagenesis would have been approximately 75 C. This is comparable to shallow burial diagenetic conditions on Earth. The cementation and recrystallization components of lithification are closely intertwined. Cementation describes the precipitation of minerals between grains from pore fluids, and recrystallization (or authigenesis) is when the original sedimentary mineral grains are altered into secondary minerals. The presence of authigenic smectites and magnetite in the YKB formation suggests that some recrystallization has taken place. The relatively high percentage of XRD-amorphous material (25-40%) detected by CheMin suggests that this recrystallization may be limited in scope, and therefore may not contribute significantly to the cementing material. However, relatively persistent amorphous components could exist in the Martian environment (e.g. amorphous MgSO4), so recrystallization, including loss of crystallinity, cannot yet be excluded as a method of cementation. In order to describe the rock cementation, both the rock textures and their composition must be considered. Here, we attempt to summarize the current understanding of the textural and compositional aspects of the cement across the rocks analyzed by Curiosity to this point