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Clay Bearing Units in the Region around Mawrth Vallis: Stratigraphy, Extent, and Possible Alteration FrontsThe largest exposure of phyllosilicates on Mars occurs on the highland plains around Mawrth Vallis. This exposure extends for about 300 km southward from the edge of the dichotomy boundary, covering an area greater than 200 x 300 kilometers over an elevation range of approximately 2000 meters. At least two different types of hydrated phyllosilicates (Fe/Mg-rich and Al-rich phyllosilicates) have been identified in OMEGA data based on absorption bands near 2.3 and 2.2 micrometers, respectively. These clay-bearing units are associated with layered, indurated light-toned units with complex spatial and stratigraphic relationships, and are unconfomably overlain by a darker, indurated, more heavily cratered unit. Ongoing analysis of OMEGA (approximately 1 kilometer/pixel) and CRISM multi-spectral (MSP, 200 meters/pixel) data reveal hydrated minerals with absorptions at approximately 2.2 or 2.3 micrometers in locations up to 300 kilometers away from the borders of the previously identified extent of clay-bearing units. We seek to: 1) further constrain the mineralogy of the hydrated species identified in [5], and 2) understand spatial and stratigraphic relationships between the different hydrated minerals and the cratered plains units in which they are found. In this work we perform mineralogical and stratigraphic comparisons between units to test whether these extended units may be related, in order to establish a broad zone of alteration.
Document ID
20080009718
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Dobrea, E. Z. Noe (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Bishop, J. L. (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Mountain View, CA, United States)
McKeown, N. K. (California Univ. Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Swayze, G. (Geological Survey Denver, CO, United States)
Michalski, J. R. (Paris Univ. Orsay, France)
Poulet, F. (Paris Univ. Orsay, France)
Bibring, J.-P. (Paris Univ. Orsay, France)
Mustard, J. F. (Brown Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Ehlmann, B. L. (Brown Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Arvidson, R. (Washington Univ. Saint Louis, MO, United States)
Morris, R. B. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Murchie, S. (Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
McEwen, A. S. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Malaret, E. (ACT, Inc. Herndon, VA, United States)
Hash, C. (ACT, Inc. Herndon, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2007
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Location: League City, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 10, 2008
End Date: March 14, 2008
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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