Publications
28 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.
Bennett KA, Fox VK, Bryk A, et al., 2023, The Curiosity Rover's Exploration of Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars: An Overview of the Campaign and Scientific Results, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 128, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 24
Davis JM, Balme MR, Fawdon P, et al., 2023, Ancient alluvial plains at Oxia Planum, Mars, EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS, Vol: 601, ISSN: 0012-821X
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- Citations: 2
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
Sutter B, McAdam AC, Wong GM, et al., 2022, Constraining Alteration Processes Along the Siccar Point Group Unconformity, Gale Crater, Mars: Results From the Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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
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
Bedford CC, Banham SG, Bridges JC, et al., 2022, An Insight Into Ancient Aeolian Processes and Post-Noachian Aqueous Alteration in Gale Crater, Mars, Using ChemCam Geochemical Data From the Greenheugh Capping Unit, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 127, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 12
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Davis JM, Banham SG, Grindrod PM, et al., 2020, Morphology, Development, and Sediment Dynamics of Elongating Linear Dunes on Mars, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, Vol: 47, ISSN: 0094-8276
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- Citations: 11
Bedford CC, Schwenzer SP, Bridges JC, et al., 2020, Geochemical variation in the Stimson formation of Gale crater: Provenance, mineral sorting, and a comparison with modern Martian dunes, ICARUS, Vol: 341, ISSN: 0019-1035
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- Citations: 29
Edgar LA, Fedo CM, Gupta S, et al., 2020, A Lacustrine Paleoenvironment Recorded at Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater: Overview of the Sedimentology and Stratigraphy Observed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 125, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 69
Rivera-Hernandez F, Sumner DY, Mangold N, et al., 2020, Grain Size Variations in the Murray Formation: Stratigraphic Evidence for Changing Depositional Environments in Gale Crater, Mars, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS, Vol: 125, ISSN: 2169-9097
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- Citations: 28
Balme MR, Curtis-Rouse MC, Banham S, et al., 2019, The 2016 UK Space Agency Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation (MURFI), PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE, Vol: 165, Pages: 31-56, ISSN: 0032-0633
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- Citations: 4
Banham S, Gupta S, Rubin D, et al., 2018, Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars, Sedimentology, Vol: 65, Pages: 993-1042, ISSN: 0037-0746
Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater geological history and regional palaeoclimate. Whilst exploring the sedimentary succession cropping out on the northern flank of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered a decametre‐thick sandstone succession, named the Stimson formation, unconformably overlying lacustrine deposits of the Murray formation. The sandstone contains sand grains characterized by high roundness and sphericity, and cross‐bedding on the order of 1 m in thickness, separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops. The cross‐beds are composed of uniform thickness cross‐laminations interpreted as wind‐ripple strata. Cross‐sets are separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops that are interpreted as dune migration surfaces. Grain characteristics and presence of wind‐ripple strata indicate deposition of the Stimson formation by aeolian processes. The absence of features characteristic of damp or wet aeolian sediment accumulation indicate deposition in a dry aeolian system. Reconstruction of the palaeogeomorphology suggests that the Stimson dune field was composed largely of simple sinuous crescentic dunes with a height of ca 10 m, and wavelengths of ca 150 m, with local development of complex dunes. Analysis of cross‐strata dip azimuths indicates that the general dune migration direction and hence net sediment transport was towards the north‐east. The juxtaposition of a dry aeolian system unconformably above the lacustrine Murray formation represents starkly contrasting palaeoenvironmental and p
Ewing RC, Lapotre MGA, Lewis KW, et al., 2017, Sedimentary processes of the Bagnold Dunes: Implications for the eolian rock record of Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol: 122, Pages: 2544-2573, ISSN: 2169-9097
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity visited two active wind-blown sand dunes within Gale crater, Mars, which provided the first ground-based opportunity to compare Martian and terrestrial eolian dune sedimentary processes and study a modern analog for the Martian eolian rock record. Orbital and rover images of these dunes reveal terrestrial-like and uniquely Martian processes. The presence of grainfall, grainflow, and impact ripples resembled terrestrial dunes. Impact ripples were present on all dune slopes and had a size and shape similar to their terrestrial counterpart. Grainfall and grainflow occurred on dune and large-ripple lee slopes. Lee slopes were ~29° where grainflows were present and ~33° where grainfall was present. These slopes are interpreted as the dynamic and static angles of repose, respectively. Grain size measured on an undisturbed impact ripple ranges between 50 μm and 350 μm with an intermediate axis mean size of 113 μm (median: 103 μm). Dissimilar to dune eolian processes on Earth, large, meter-scale ripples were present on all dune slopes. Large ripples had nearly symmetric to strongly asymmetric topographic profiles and heights ranging between 12 cm and 28 cm. The composite observations of the modern sedimentary processes highlight that the Martian eolian rock record is likely different from its terrestrial counterpart because of the large ripples, which are expected to engender a unique scale of cross stratification. More broadly, however, in the Bagnold Dune Field as on Earth, dune-field pattern dynamics and basin-scale boundary conditions will dictate the style and distribution of sedimentary processes.
Lapotre MG, Ewing RC, Lamb MP, et al., 2016, Large wind ripples on Mars: a record of atmospheric evolution, Science, Vol: 353, Pages: 55-58, ISSN: 1095-9203
Wind blowing over sand on Earth produces decimeter-wavelength ripples and hundred-meter- to kilometer-wavelength dunes: bedforms of two distinct size modes. Observations from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that Mars hosts a third stable wind-driven bedform, with meter-scale wavelengths. These bedforms are spatially uniform in size and typically have asymmetric profiles with angle-of-repose lee slopes and sinuous crest lines, making them unlike terrestrial wind ripples. Rather, these structures resemble fluid-drag ripples, which on Earth include water-worked current ripples, but on Mars instead form by wind because of the higher kinematic viscosity of the low-density atmosphere. A reevaluation of the wind-deposited strata in the Burns formation (about 3.7 billion years old or younger) identifies potential wind-drag ripple stratification formed under a thin atmosphere.
Banham SG, Mountney NP, 2014, Climatic versus halokinetic control on sedimentation in a dryland fluvial succession, SEDIMENTOLOGY, Vol: 61, Pages: 570-608, ISSN: 0037-0746
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- Citations: 34
Banham SG, Mountney NP, 2013, Controls on fluvial sedimentary architecture and sediment-fill state in salt-walled mini-basins: Triassic Moenkopi Formation, Salt Anticline Region, SE Utah, USA, BASIN RESEARCH, Vol: 25, Pages: 709-737, ISSN: 0950-091X
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- Citations: 26
Banham SG, Mountney NP, 2013, Evolution of fluvial systems in salt-walled mini-basins: A review and new insights, SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY, Vol: 296, Pages: 142-166, ISSN: 0037-0738
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- Citations: 34
Banham SG, Pringle JK, 2011, Geophysical and intrusive site investigations to detect an abandoned coal-mine access shaft, Apedale, Staffordshire, UK, NEAR SURFACE GEOPHYSICS, Vol: 9, Pages: 483-496, ISSN: 1569-4445
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- Citations: 20
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