Phyllosilicate and Hydrated Sulfate Deposits in Meridiani

Abstract

Several phyllosilicate and hydrated sulfate deposits in Meridiani have been mapped in detail with high resolution MRO CRISM [1] data. Previous studies have documented extensive exposures of outcrop in Meridiani (fig 1), or etched terrain (ET), that has been interpreted to be sedimentary in origin [e.g., 2,3]. These deposits have been mapped at a regional scale with OMEGA data and show enhanced hydration (1.9 m absorption) in several areas [4]. However, hydrated sulfate detections were restricted to valley exposures in northern Meridiani ET [5]. New high resolution CRISM images show that hydrated sulfates are present in several spatially isolated exposures throughout the ET (fig 1). The hydrated sulfate deposits in the valley are vertically heterogeneous with layers of mono and polyhydrated sulfates and are morphologically distinct from other areas of the ET. We are currently mapping the detailed spatial distribution of sulfates and searching for distinct geochemical horizons that may be traced back to differential ground water recharge and/or evaporative loss rates. The high resolution CRISM data has allowed us to map out several phyllosilicate deposits within the fluvially dissected Noachian cratered terrain (DCT) to the south and west of the hematite-bearing plains (Ph) and ET (fig 1). In Miyamoto crater, phyllosilicates are located within ~30km of the edge of Ph, which is presumably underlain by acid sulfate deposits similar to those explored by Opportunity. The deposits within this crater may record the transition from fluvial conditions which produced and/or preserved phyllosilicates deposits to a progressively acid sulfate dominated groundwater system in which large accumulations of sulfate-rich evaporites were deposited