Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars

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Read Full Article (file size: 2641501 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 111, E02S10, doi:10.1029/2005JE002477, 2006 Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars H. Y. McSween Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA M. B Wyatt Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA R. Gellert Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany J. F. Bell III Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA R. V. Morris NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA K. E. Herkenhoff U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA L. S. Crumpler New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA K. A. Milam Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA K. R. Stockstill Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA L. L. Tornabene Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA R. E. Arvidson Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA P. Bartlett Honeybee Robotics, New York, New York, USA D. Blaney Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA N. A. Cabrol NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA P. R. Christensen Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA B. C. Clark Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, Colorado, USA J. A. Crisp Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA D. J. Des Marais NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA T. Economou Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA J. D. Farmer Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA W. Farrand Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA A. Ghosh Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA M. Golombek Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA S. Gorevan Honeybee Robotics, New York, New York, USA R. Greeley Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA V. E. Hamilton Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA J. R. Johnson U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA B. L. Joliff Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA G. Klingelhöfer Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany A. T. Knudson Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA S. McLennan Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA D. Ming NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA J. E. Moersch Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA R. Rieder Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany S. W. Ruff Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA C. Schröder Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany P. A. de Souza Jr. Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil S. W. Squyres Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA H. Wänke Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany A. Wang Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA A. Yen Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA J. Zipfel Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany Abstract 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. Keywords: basalt; Mars; olivine. Index Terms: 5410 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Composition (1060, 3672); 5470 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5464 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Remote sensing; 5480 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Volcanism (6063, 8148, 8450). Read Full Article (file size: 2641501 bytes) Cited by Citation: McSween, H. Y., et al. (2006), Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E02S10, doi:10.1029/2005JE002477. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

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