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The mineralogy of Mars is the chemical composition of rocks and soil that encompass the surface of Mars. ... Phyllosilicates. Kaolinite (Al 2 Si 2 O 5 (OH) 4}
In the summer of 2008, the TEGA and WCL experiments on the 2007 Phoenix Mars lander found between 3–5wt% (percent by weight) calcite (CaCO 3) and an alkaline soil. [65] In 2010, analyses by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit identified outcrops rich in magnesium-iron carbonate (16–34 wt%) in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. The magnesium ...
OMEGA identified outcroppings of phyllosilicates at numerous locations on Mars, all in rocks that were exclusively Pre-Noachian or Noachian in age (most notably in rock exposures in Nili Fossae and Mawrth Vallis). Phyllosillicates require a water-rich, alkaline environment to form.
OMEGA has distinguished two types of phyllosilicates which are likely to be montmorillonite and nontronite based on known spectra. From OMEGA's perspective, Mawrth Vallis contains the highest abundance of phyllosilicates on Mars and has up to 65% of smectites in volume. [29]
Another study also observed phyllosilicates to be closely located to chlorides with CRISM, as well as THEMIS. [5] Phyllosilicates also provide evidence for aqueous processes occurring during the Noachian period. [9] Both studies determined that the phyllosilicates were deposited first. [5] [8]
Basalt has been identified all over Mars. Instruments on orbiting spacecraft have detected clay (also called phyllosilicates) in some layers. [40] [41] Scientists are excited about finding hydrated minerals such as sulfates and clays on Mars because they are usually formed in the presence of water. [42]
Nili Fossae is a group of large, concentric grabens on Mars, in the Syrtis Major quadrangle. They have been eroded and partly filled in by sediments and clay-rich ejecta from a nearby giant impact crater, the Isidis basin. [1] It is at approximately 22°N, 75°E, and has an elevation of −0.6 km (−0.37 mi).
These areas include Gale Crater, Mawrth Vallis, Oxia Planum, and Nili Fossae, among others, and date to 4.0-3.7 Ga. There are two hypotheses to explain the formation and distribution of phyllosilicate clays on Mars: (1) subsurface and hydrothermal activity and/or diagenesis which yield trioctahedral phyllosilicates, and (2) surface / subaerial ...