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24 - The sedimentary rock cycle of Mars

from Part V - Synthesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2009

By
S. M. McLennan  and
J. P. Grotzinger
Edited by
Jim Bell
S. M. McLennan
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA
J. P. Grotzinger
Affiliation:
Geology & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology MC 170-25 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasendena, CA 91125, USA
Jim Bell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

Abstract

Orbital and landed missions have demonstrated that Mars possesses an extensive and diverse sedimentary rock record that is mostly ancient. Many observed or inferred processes appear familiar to sedimentary geologists but, in detail, the sedimentary record of Mars differs in fundamental ways from the terrestrial record. Mars is a basaltic planet and accordingly, the provenance of sedimentary material, including particulate debris and aqueous fluids from which chemical constituents precipitate, is composed of basalt rather than intermediate to felsic igneous compositions characteristic of terrestrial upper continental crust. Aqueous alteration, observed on Mars and studied experimentally, indicates surficial processes dominated by low pH; under acidic conditions, many chemical relationships that are characteristic of terrestrial weathering do not apply. Aluminum and Fe are far more soluble and mobile, Si mobility is limited by fluid/rock ratio and iron oxidation rates are sluggish. Low fluid/rock ratios are indicted by the observation that only the most soluble minerals (olivine, Fe-Ti oxides, phosphates, possibly pyroxene) appear to be widely involved in surface alteration with little evidence for involvement of relatively insoluble plagioclase. An intriguing result, from both global-scale orbital and detailed surface spectroscopy, and geochemistry obtained by rovers, is that evaporitic processes, leading to a wide variety of Ca-, Mg- and Fe-bearing sulfates in sedimentary rocks, alteration profiles, and soils, appear to have been common throughout Martian geological history. Investigations by Spirit and Opportunity demonstrate that classical stratigraphy and sedimentology can be accomplished on the Martian surface using remote techniques.

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The Martian Surface
Composition, Mineralogy and Physical Properties
 , pp. 541 - 577
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • The sedimentary rock cycle of Mars
    • By S. M. McLennan, Department of Geosciences, SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA, J. P. Grotzinger, Geology & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology MC 170-25 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasendena, CA 91125, USA
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.025
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  • The sedimentary rock cycle of Mars
    • By S. M. McLennan, Department of Geosciences, SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA, J. P. Grotzinger, Geology & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology MC 170-25 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasendena, CA 91125, USA
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.025
Available formats
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  • The sedimentary rock cycle of Mars
    • By S. M. McLennan, Department of Geosciences, SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA, J. P. Grotzinger, Geology & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology MC 170-25 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasendena, CA 91125, USA
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.025
Available formats
×