K-Rich Rubbly Bedrock at Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars: Investigating the Possible Presence of Illite - Université d'Angers Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2021

K-Rich Rubbly Bedrock at Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars: Investigating the Possible Presence of Illite

Matthieu Desjardins
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 786715
  • IdRef : 092805884
Roger C. Wiens

Résumé

Introduction: The Curiosity rover reached the Glen Torridon (GT) area around sol 2300 (January 2019). GT is known to display relatively strong and extensive smectite signatures from orbit [1]. During the last two years of exploring this area, Curiosity has revealed variations in chemical compositions correlated with bedrock facies [2-4]. The spatially dominant type of rock in the lowermost part of GT (which is a lateral continuation of the Jura member) is described as the "rubbly" bedrock because it outcrops as small pieces of bedrock embedded in soil. The rubbly bedrock is composed of finely-laminated mudstones and is characterized by enrichments in K2O and SiO2 [3], whereas the slabs of coherent bedrock adjacent to it are lower in K2O but enriched in MgO [3]. Another mudstone layer with a low MgO/high K2O type of composition is also observed in the overlying Knockfarril Hill member, between Glen Etive and Central Butte. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses performed by the CheMin instrument showed that the Jura coherent bedrock contains ~30 wt% of Fe-smectites [5]. However, no XRD analysis was performed on the rubbly bedrock, and the discussion below is thus based solely on elemental compositions measured by ChemCam [6,7]. The objective of this work is to discuss clues regarding the mineralogy of the GT rubbly bedrock: in particular whether the enrichment in K2O is related to partial illitization of the clay minerals, or to a mixing with K-feldspars? Elevated K2O abundances were previously observed in the Kimberley area [8-9], on the floor of Aeolis Palus [10], where CheMin results showed an associated enrichment in K-feldspar (sanidine) [9]. K-feldspars were also observed in igneous rocks such as trachytes [11,12]. In this study, data from the rubbly bedrock of GT are therefore compared to data from Kimberley and from the trachytic igneous rocks observed at Bradbury. Some plagioclase-rich igneous rocks are also used for comparison [12]. Methodology: ChemCam uses the LIBS technique to perform remote chemical analyzes [6,7,12]. The laser beam (300-500 µm, [13]) is large enough that it mostly samples mixtures of mineral phases (as opposed to pure phases), especially in mudstones. Therefore, we used trends in elemental ratios to interpret the mineralogy of the rocks. Compositions with a sum of oxides <90 % were discarded in order to minimize the contribution of the ubiquitous Ca-sulfate veins. Concerning minor elements, peak areas have been used, as described in [11]. Data used to be compared with the GT rubbly bedrock have been filtered in order to have relatively pure phases. For that, data points were plotted in mineralogical plot to
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
2127.pdf (668.27 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-03143178 , version 1 (16-02-2021)

Identifiants

Citer

Agnes Cousin, Matthieu Desjardins, Erwin Dehouck, Olivier Forni, Gael David, et al.. K-Rich Rubbly Bedrock at Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars: Investigating the Possible Presence of Illite. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Mar 2021, The Woodlands, United States. ⟨hal-03143178⟩
169 Consultations
51 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More