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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 111,
E02S12,
23 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2005JE002560
Geochemical and mineralogical indicators for aqueous processes in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater, Mars
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Jacobs Sverdrup, ESCG, Houston, Texas, USA
Institut für Inorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, Colorado, USA
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Institut für Inorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Institut für Inorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Space Research Institute IKI, Moscow, Russia
Institut für Inorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
CVRD Group, Vitoria, Brazil
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Water played a major role in the formation and alteration of rocks and soils in the Columbia Hills. The extent of alteration
ranges from moderate to extensive. Five distinct rock compositional classes were identified; the order for degree of alteration
is Watchtower 
Clovis > Wishstone Peace > Backstay. The rover's wheels uncovered one unusual soil (Paso Robles) that is the most S-rich material encountered.
Clovis class rocks have compositions similar to Gusev plains soil but with higher Mg, Cl, and Br and lower Ca and Zn; Watchtower
and Wishstone classes have high Al, Ti, and P and low Cr and Ni; Peace has high Mg and S and low Al, Na, and K; Backstay basalts
have high Na and K compared to plains Adirondack basalts; and Paso Robles soil has high S and P. Some rocks are corundum-normative,
indicating that their primary compositions were changed by loss and/or gain of rock-forming elements. Clovis materials consist
of magnetite, nanophase ferric-oxides (npOx), hematite, goethite, Ca-phosphates, Ca- and Mg-sulfates, pyroxene, and secondary
aluminosilicates. Wishstone and Watchtower rocks consist of Fe-oxides/oxyhydroxides, ilmenite, Ca-phosphate, pyroxene, feldspar,
Mg-sulfates, and secondary aluminosilicates. Peace consists of magnetite, npOx, Mg- and Ca-sulfates, pyroxene, olivine, feldspar,
apatite, halides, and secondary aluminosilicates. Paso Robles consists of Fe3+-, Mg-, Ca-, and other sulfates, Ca-phosphates, hematite, halite, allophane, and amorphous silica. Columbia Hills outcrops
and rocks may have formed by the aqueous alteration of basaltic rocks, volcaniclastic materials, and/or impact ejecta by solutions
that were rich in acid-volatile elements.
Received 19 August 2005; accepted 25 October 2005; published 27 January 2006.
Citation: (2006), Geochemical and mineralogical indicators for aqueous processes in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater, Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E02S12, doi:10.1029/2005JE002560.
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