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Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Honeybee Robotics, New York, New York, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, Colorado, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Honeybee Robotics, New York, New York, USA
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
Rocks on the floor of Gusev crater are basalts of uniform composition and mineralogy. Olivine, the only mineral to have been identified or inferred from data by all instruments on the Spirit rover, is especially abundant in these rocks. These picritic basalts are similar in many respects to certain Martian meteorites (olivine-phyric shergottites). The olivine megacrysts in both have intermediate compositions, with modal abundances ranging up to 20–30%. Associated minerals in both include low-calcium and high-calcium pyroxenes, plagioclase of intermediate composition, iron-titanium-chromium oxides, and phosphate. These rocks also share minor element trends, reflected in their nickel-magnesium and chromium-magnesium ratios. Gusev basalts and shergottites appear to have formed from primitive magmas produced by melting an undepleted mantle at depth and erupted without significant fractionation. However, apparent differences between Gusev rocks and shergottites in their ages, plagioclase abundances, and volatile contents preclude direct correlation. Orbital determinations of global olivine distribution and compositions by thermal emission spectroscopy suggest that olivine-rich rocks may be widespread. Because weathering under acidic conditions preferentially attacks olivine and disguises such rocks beneath alteration rinds, picritic basalts formed from primitive magmas may even be a common component of the Martian crust formed during ancient and recent times.
Received 29 April 2005; accepted 26 July 2005; published 6 January 2006.
Citation: (2006), Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E02S10, doi:10.1029/2005JE002477.
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