Publications
130 results found
Gwizd S, Fedo C, Grotzinger J, et al., 2024, Evolution of a Lake Margin Recorded in the Sutton Island Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol: 129, ISSN: 2169-9097
This study uses data from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover to document the facies of the Sutton Island member of the Murray formation, interpret paleoenvironments, and establish key stratigraphic transitions at Gale crater. Two facies associations were identified: Facies Association 1 (FA1) and Facies Association 2 (FA2). Individual facies in FA1 include planar-laminated mudstone with minor intervals of planar sandstone, ripple cross-laminated sandstone, cross-stratified sandstone, and alternating laminated sandstone and mudstone. Meter-thick packages of planar-laminated mudstone in FA1 are interpreted to represent deposition in low-energy ponded environments along the lake margin. Straight- and curve-crested ripple cross-laminated facies are interpreted to represent current-influenced deposition. Cross-stratified sandstone facies consist of dm-thick sets that represent deposition in distal channels. Intercalated mm-scale mudstone and sandstone laminae represent waning flow conditions and possible channel abandonment. Facies in FA1 collectively represent deposition in a distal delta plain. FA2 is comprised of planar-laminated mudstone with minor sandstone and is interpreted to represent deposition in a lacustrine-basin setting by suspension settling linked to density flows. FA1 transitions upward into FA2, defining a rapid transgression substantial enough to facilitate the deposition of distal lake facies above delta plain facies. The abrupt transition from FA2 back to FA1 deltaic deposits is suggestive of forced regression. Facies in FA1 and FA2 are consistent with the prevalence of aqueous environments recorded in other Murray formation members and extend our understanding of the dynamic sedimentary processes that characterized ancient lacustrine systems at Gale crater.
Chipera SJ, Vaniman DT, Rampe EB, et al., 2023, Mineralogical investigation of Mg‐sulfate at the Canaima drill site, Gale crater, Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol: 128, ISSN: 2169-9100
For the first time on Mars, the crystalline magnesium-sulfate mineral starkeyite (MgSO4‧4H2O) was definitively identified using the CheMin X-ray diffraction instrument at Gale crater. At the Canaima drill site, starkeyite along with amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O are among the “polyhydrated Mg-sulfates” interpreted in orbital reflectance spectra. Mg-sulfates are good climate indicators as they are very responsive to changes in temperature and relative humidity. We hypothesize that, through evaporation, Mg-sulfates formed at the end of brine evolution when ion concentrations became saturated and precipitated on the surface or near sub-surface as either epsomite or meridianiite. These minerals were subsequently dehydrated later to starkeyite and amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O in response to a drier Mars. At Canaima, starkeyite is stable and would form during the warmer Mars summers. Due to very slow kinetics at the low Mars winter temperatures, starkeyite and amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O would be resistant to recrystallize to more hydrous forms and thus likely persist year-round. During the course of analyses, starkeyite transforms into amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O inside the rover body due to the elevated temperature and greatly reduced relative humidity compared to the martian surface at the Canaima drill site. It is possible that crystalline sulfate minerals existed in earlier samples measured by CheMin but altered inside the rover before they could be analyzed. Starkeyite is most likely prevalent in the subsurface, whereas both starkeyite and amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O are likely present on the surface as starkeyite could partially transform into amorphous MgSO4‧nH2O due to direct solar heating.
Sun VZ, Hand KP, Stack KM, et al., 2023, Overview and Results From the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover's First Science Campaign on the Jezero Crater Floor, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 128, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 5
Yingst RA, Cowart AC, Kah LC, et al., 2023, Depositional and Diagenetic Processes of Martian Lacustrine Sediments as Revealed at Pahrump Hills by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 128, ISSN: 2169-9097
Paar G, Ortner T, Tate C, et al., 2023, Three-Dimensional Data Preparation and Immersive Mission-Spanning Visualization and Analysis of Mars 2020 Mastcam-Z Stereo Image Sequences, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE, Vol: 10
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- Citations: 3
Cosgrove JW, Banham SG, Gupta S, et al., 2022, The Origin of the Fracture Networks in the Mudstones of Gale Crater Mars; Their Implications Regarding the State of Stress and Fluid Pressure During Their Formation and the Depth to Which They Were Buried, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
Bell JF, Maki JN, Alwmark S, et al., 2022, Geological, multispectral, and meteorological imaging results from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in Jezero crater, SCIENCE ADVANCES, Vol: 8, ISSN: 2375-2548
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- Citations: 17
Tice MM, Hurowitz JA, Allwood AC, et al., 2022, Alteration history of Seitah formation rocks inferred by PIXL x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, and multispectral imaging on Mars, SCIENCE ADVANCES, Vol: 8, ISSN: 2375-2548
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- Citations: 13
Liu Y, Tice MM, Schmidt ME, et al., 2022, An olivine cumulate outcrop on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars, SCIENCE, Vol: 377, Pages: 1513-+, ISSN: 0036-8075
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- Citations: 28
Farley KA, Stack KM, Shuster DL, et al., 2022, Aqueously altered igneous rocks sampled on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars, Science, Vol: 377, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 0036-8075
The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, to investigate ancient lake and river deposits. We report observations of the crater floor, below the crater?s sedimentary delta, finding the floor consists of igneous rocks altered by water. The lowest exposed unit, informally named Séítah, is a coarsely crystalline olivine-rich rock, which accumulated at the base of a magma body. Fe-Mg carbonates along grain boundaries indicate reactions with CO2-rich water, under water-poor conditions. Overlying Séítah is a unit informally named Máaz, which we interpret as lava flows or the chemical complement to Séítah in a layered igneous body. Voids in these rocks contain sulfates and perchlorates, likely introduced by later near-surface brine evaporation. Core samples of these rocks were stored aboard Perseverance for potential return to Earth.
Banham SG, Gupta S, Rubin DM, et al., 2022, Evidence for Fluctuating Wind in Shaping an Ancient Martian Dune Field: The Stimson Formation at the Greenheugh Pediment, Gale Crater, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 11
Caravaca G, Mangold N, Dehouck E, et al., 2022, From Lake to River: Documenting an Environmental Transition Across the Jura/Knockfarril Hill Members Boundary in the Glen Torridon Region of Gale Crater (Mars), JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 17
Fedo CM, Bryk AB, Edgar LA, et al., 2022, Geology and Stratigraphic Correlation of the Murray and Carolyn Shoemaker Formations Across the Glen Torridon Region, Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 20
Wiens RC, Udry A, Beyssac O, et al., 2022, Compositionally and density stratified igneous terrain in Jezero crater, Mars, SCIENCE ADVANCES, Vol: 8, ISSN: 2375-2548
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- Citations: 32
Gwizd S, Fedo C, Grotzinger J, et al., 2022, Sedimentological and Geochemical Perspectives on a Marginal Lake Environment Recorded in the Hartmann's Valley and Karasburg Members of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 9
Watkins JA, Grotzinger JP, Stein NT, et al., 2022, Burial and Exhumation of Sedimentary Rocks Revealed by the Base Stimson Erosional Unconformity, Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 1
Zaki AS, Davis JM, Edgett KS, et al., 2022, Fluvial Depositional Systems of the African Humid Period: An Analog for an Early, Wet Mars in the Eastern Sahara, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 1
Rubin DM, Lapotre MAG, Stevens AW, et al., 2022, Ancient Winds, Waves, and Atmosphere in Gale Crater, Mars, Inferred From Sedimentary Structures and Wave Modeling, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 5
Zaki AS, King GE, Haghipour N, et al., 2021, Did increased flooding during the African Humid Period force migration of modern humans from the Nile Valley?, QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, Vol: 272, ISSN: 0277-3791
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- Citations: 7
Mangold N, Gupta S, Gasnault O, et al., 2021, Perseverance rover reveals an ancient delta-lake system and flood deposits at Jezero crater, Mars, SCIENCE, Vol: 374, Pages: 711-717, ISSN: 0036-8075
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- Citations: 60
Fawdon P, Balme MR, Davis JM, et al., 2021, Rivers and Lakes in Western Arabia Terra: The Fluvial Catchment of the ExoMars 2022 rover landing site
HolmAlwmark S, Kinch KM, Hansen MD, et al., 2021, Stratigraphic relationships in Jezero crater, Mars: constraints on the timing of fluvial‐lacustrine activity from orbital observations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol: 126, Pages: 1-31, ISSN: 2169-9097
On February 18, 2021 NASA's Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, located at the northwestern edge of the Isidis basin on Mars. The uppermost surface of the present-day crater floor is dominated by a distinct geologic assemblage previously referred to as the dark-toned floor. It consists of a smooth, dark-toned unit overlying and variably covering light-toned, roughly eroded deposits showing evidence of discrete layers. In this study, we investigated the stratigraphic relations between materials that comprise this assemblage, the main western delta deposit, as well as isolated mesas located east of the main delta body that potentially represent delta remnants. A more detailed classification and differentiation of crater floor units in Jezero and determination of their relative ages is vital for the understanding of the geologic evolution of the crater system, and determination of the potential timeline and environments of habitability. We have investigated unit contacts using topographic profiles and DEMs as well as the distribution of small craters and fractures on the youngest portions of the crater floor. Our results indicate that at least some of the deltaic deposition in Jezero postdates emplacement of the uppermost surface of the crater floor assemblage. The inferred age of the floor assemblage can therefore help to constrain the timing of the Jezero fluviolacustrine system, wherein at least some lake activity postdates the age of the uppermost crater floor. We present hypotheses that can be tested by Perseverance and can be used to advance our knowledge of the geologic evolution of the area.
Kumar Joshi S, Gupta S, Sinha R, et al., 2021, Strongly heterogeneous patterns of groundwater depletion in Northwestern India, Journal of Hydrology, Vol: 598, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 0022-1694
Northwestern India has been identified as a significant hotspot of groundwater depletion, with major implications for groundwater sustainability caused by excessive abstraction. We know relatively little about the detailed spatial and temporal changes in groundwater storage in this region, nor do we understand the interplay of factors controlling these changes. Groundwater managers and policymakers in India require such information to monitor groundwater development and make strategic decisions for the sustainable management of groundwater. Here, we characterise high-resolution spatio-temporal variability in groundwater levels and storage change across northwestern India through analysis of in situ measurements of historical groundwater level data. We note a slow gain in groundwater storage of + 0.58 ± 0.35 km3 for the pre-monsoon and + 0.40 ± 0.35 km3 for the post-monsoon period between 1974 and 2001. However, from 2002 to 2010, groundwater storage was rapidly depleted by −32.30 ± 0.34 km3 in the pre-monsoon and −24.42 ± 0.34 km3 in the post-monsoon period. Importantly, we observe marked spatial heterogeneity in groundwater levels and storage change and distinct hotspots of groundwater depletion with lateral length scales of tens of kilometers. Spatial variability in groundwater abstraction partially explains the depletion pattern, but we also find that the sedimentological heterogeneity of the aquifer system correlates broadly with long-term patterns of groundwater-level change. This correlation, along with the spatial agreement between groundwater level change and water quality, provides a framework for anticipating future depletion patterns and guiding groundwater monitoring and domain-specific management strategies.
Davis JM, Grindrod PM, Banham SG, et al., 2021, A record of syn-tectonic sedimentation revealed by perched alluvial fan deposits in Valles Marineris, Mars, Geology, Vol: 49, Pages: 1250-1254, ISSN: 0091-7613
On Mars, basins formed by tectonic processes are rare and mostly have unconstrained subsidence histories. One method for understanding this record of subsidence is through associated alluvial fans, which are sourced from uplifted areas and accumulate in downthrown basins. The source, morphology, and superposition of fan deposits can be used to reconstruct fault kinematics, the relative timing of accommodation space formation, and, in turn, the influence tectonic processes had on Martian fan formation. Here we use high-resolution orbital data sets to characterize sediment fan deposits associated with syn-tectonic sedimentation in two regions of the Valles Marineris canyons: Coprates Chasma and Juventae Chasma. These deposits comprise sediment fans on the current canyon floor and low-gradient surfaces perched several kilometers above the canyon floor. We interpret the low-gradient surfaces as remnant sediment fan deposits, which originally formed at the former canyon floor and have since been offset due to normal faulting. The preservation of vertically offset generations of sediment fan deposits supports a progressive, basinward migration of fault activity into the original hanging wall or repeat activity along a fault zone. Each episode of faulting was followed by a basinward shift in drainages, which led to fault-scarp degradation and formation of a new generation of fans. Multiple episodes of syn-tectonic sedimentation occurred during the evolution of the basins, with fluvial activity sporadically active. Our results demonstrate, for the first time on Mars, that depositional cyclicity was linked to tectonic deformation, possibly representative of regional processes throughout Valles Marineris.
Arosio R, Collier JS, Hawes J, et al., 2021, New perspectives on the English Channel megaflood hypothesis: High-resolution multibeam and seabed camera imaging of submarine landforms in the Northern Palaeovalley, Geomorphology, Vol: 382, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 0169-555X
A network of large, bedrock-incised valleys is preserved on the seabed of the English Channel. Based on analysis of a 30 × 30 m bathymetric grid, the morphology of the valleys was interpreted to be a consequence of erosion by catastrophic flood processes from overspill of a large proglacial lake in the Southern North Sea. The significance of the “megaflood features” has since been recognized by the UK Government with the designation of their protected status in one of three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the palaeovalley in the central English Channel. Here, we analyse recent multibeam bathymetry data (2 × 2 m DEM) from these MPAs, together with backscatter and high-definition seabed camera imagery. The new data allow us to ground truth and refine the earlier interpretation and recognize previously undiscovered finer features. Streamlined valley margins, streamlined islands and metres-deep scours eroded into the valley floor are described at higher detail, while new subtle features on the valley floor such as kilometre-long, sub-parallel inner channels and streamlined bedrock ridges are identified for the first time. These features are consistent with a high energy erosion origin. We also identify isolated large boulders (>1 m length) on flat seabed on the flanks of the palaeovalley, which are consistent with deposition from megaflood processes, although wave action during transgression/regression cannot be ruled out. Our new results enable more robust morphological evidence to support the influence of catastrophic flooding on bedrock valley incision in the English Channel.
Banham SG, Gupta S, Rubin DM, et al., 2021, A Rock Record of Complex Aeolian Bedforms in a Hesperian Desert Landscape: The Stimson Formation as Exposed in the Murray Buttes, Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 126, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 31
Fraeman AA, Edgar LA, Rampe EB, et al., 2020, Evidence for a diagenetic origin of vera rubin ridge, gale crater, Mars: summary and synthesis of curiosity's exploration campaign, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol: 125, Pages: 1-34, ISSN: 2169-9097
This paper provides an overview of the Curiosity rover's exploration at Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) and summarizes the science results. VRR is a distinct geomorphic feature on lower Aeolis Mons (informally known as Mount Sharp) that was identified in orbital data based on its distinct texture, topographic expression, and association with a hematite spectral signature. Curiosity conducted extensive remote sensing observations, acquired data on dozens of contact science targets, and drilled three outcrop samples from the ridge, as well as one outcrop sample immediately below the ridge. Our observations indicate that strata composing VRR were deposited in a predominantly lacustrine setting and are part of the Murray formation. The rocks within the ridge are chemically in family with underlying Murray formation strata. Red hematite is dispersed throughout much of the VRR bedrock, and this is the source of the orbital spectral detection. Gray hematite is also present in isolated, gray-colored patches concentrated toward the upper elevations of VRR, and these gray patches also contain small, dark Fe-rich nodules. We propose that VRR formed when diagenetic event(s) preferentially hardened rocks, which were subsequently eroded into a ridge by wind. Diagenesis also led to enhanced crystallization and/or cementation that deepened the ferric-related spectral absorptions on the ridge, which helped make them readily distinguishable from orbit. Results add to existing evidence of protracted aqueous environments at Gale crater and give new insight into how diagenesis shaped Mars' rock record.
Spatola D, David del Moral-Erencia J, Micallef A, et al., 2020, A single-stage megaflood at the termination of the Messinian salinity crisis: Geophysical and modelling evidence from the eastern Mediterranean Basin, MARINE GEOLOGY, Vol: 430, ISSN: 0025-3227
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- Citations: 12
Stack KM, Williams NR, Calef F, et al., 2020, Photogeologic Map of the Perseverance Rover Field Site in Jezero Crater Constructed by the Mars 2020 Science Team, SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS, Vol: 216, ISSN: 0038-6308
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- Citations: 55
Edgett KS, Banham SG, Bennett KA, et al., 2020, Extraformational sediment recycling on Mars, Geosphere, Vol: 16, ISSN: 1553-040X
Extraformational sediment recycling (old sedimentary rock to new sedimentary rock) is a fundamental aspect of Earth’s geological record; tectonism exposes sedimentary rock, whereupon it is weathered and eroded to form new sediment that later becomes lithified. On Mars, tectonism has been minor, but two decades of orbiter instrument–based studies show that some sedimentary rocks previously buried to depths of kilometers have been exposed, by erosion, at the surface. Four locations in Gale crater, explored using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Curiosity rover, exhibit sedimentary lithoclasts in sedimentary rock: At Marias Pass, they are mudstone fragments in sandstone derived from strata below an erosional unconformity; at Bimbe, they are pebble-sized sandstone and, possibly, laminated, intraclast-bearing, chemical (calcium sulfate) sediment fragments in conglomerates; at Cooperstown, they are pebble-sized fragments of sandstone within coarse sandstone; at Dingo Gap, they are cobble-sized, stratified sandstone fragments in conglomerate derived from an immediately underlying sandstone. Mars orbiter images show lithified sediment fans at the termini of canyons that incise sedimentary rock in Gale crater; these, too, consist of recycled, extraformational sediment. The recycled sediments in Gale crater are compositionally immature, indicating the dominance of physical weathering processes during the second known cycle. The observations at Marias Pass indicate that sediment eroded and removed from craters such as Gale crater during the Martian Hesperian Period could have been recycled to form new rock elsewhere. Our results permit prediction that lithified deltaic sediments at the Perseverance (landing in 2021) and Rosalind Franklin (landing in 2023) rover field sites could contain extraformational recycled sediment.
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