Publication Date:
2019-07-12
Description:
Models are developed for the magmatic evolution and the oxidative weathering of sulfide minerals on Mars, based on petrogenetic associations among komatiitic rock types, Viking geochemical data, SNC meteorites, and terrestrial Fi-Ni deposits. The weathering model was tested by exposing komatiitic pyrrhotites and olivines to sulfuric acid solutions, with or without dissolved ferric iron, and identifying the reaction products by Moessbauer spectroscopy. The results suggest that, on Mars, acidic groundwater has induced oxidative weathering of pyrrhotite, yielding FeS2 and then FeOOH.
Keywords:
LUNAR AND PLANETARY EXPLORATION
Type:
Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227); 95; 14415-14
Format:
text
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