Imperial College London
Alternate

DrJonathanWatson

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Research Officer in Organic Geochemistry and Mineralogy
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 6399jonathan.watson Website

 
 
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Location

 

2.60Royal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Lewis:2015:10.1089/ast.2014.1160,
author = {Lewis, JMT and Watson, JS and Najorka, J and Luong, D and Sephton, MA},
doi = {10.1089/ast.2014.1160},
journal = {Astrobiology},
title = {Sulfate Minerals: A Problem for the Detection of Organic Compounds on Mars?},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2014.1160},
volume = {15},
year = {2015}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The search for in situ organic matter on Mars involves encounters with minerals and requires an understanding of their influence on lander and rover experiments. Inorganic host materials can be helpful by aiding the preservation of organic compounds or unhelpful by causing the destruction of organic matter during thermal extraction steps. Perchlorates are recognized as confounding minerals for thermal degradation studies. On heating, perchlorates can decompose to produce oxygen, which then oxidizes organic matter. Other common minerals on Mars, such as sulfates, may also produce oxygen upon thermal decay, presenting an additional complication. Different sulfate species decompose within a large range of temperatures. We performed a series of experiments on a sample containing the ferric sulfate jarosite. The sulfate ions within jarosite break down from 500  °C. Carbon dioxide detected during heating of the sample was attributed to oxidation of organic matter. A laboratory standard of ferric sulfate hydrate released sulfur dioxide from 550  °C, and an oxygen peak was detected in the products. Calcium sulfate did not decompose below 1000 ° C. Oxygen released from sulfate minerals may have already affected organic compound detection during in situ thermal experiments on Mars missions. A combination of preliminary mineralogical analyses and suitably selected pyrolysis temperatures may increase future success in the search for past or present life on Mars.
AU  - Lewis,JMT
AU  - Watson,JS
AU  - Najorka,J
AU  - Luong,D
AU  - Sephton,MA
DO  - 10.1089/ast.2014.1160
PY  - 2015///
SN  - 1557-8070
TI  - Sulfate Minerals: A Problem for the Detection of Organic Compounds on Mars?
T2  - Astrobiology
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2014.1160
VL  - 15
ER  -
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