The Top of Vera Rubin Ridge Part 2, Site 67-73, sol 1944-2297, 24 Jan 2018-22 Jan 2019 |
The Top of Vera Rubin Ridge Part 2, Site 67-73, sol 1944-2297, 24 Jan 2018-22 Jan 2019 |
Jan 24 2018, 08:59 PM
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#601
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2431 Joined: 30-January 13 From: Penang, Malaysia. Member No.: 6853 |
Drive during 1944, L-NavCam pan roughly stitched in MS ICE be should be good to help pinpoint the location. (the plan called for a 25 meter drive south)
(delete after proper version is posted) |
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Dec 5 2018, 10:04 PM
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#602
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Member Group: Members Posts: 306 Joined: 4-October 14 Member No.: 7273 |
Would someone care to comment on the CU enrichment? To me it seems fairly significant. IIRC, the Deep Impact mission used a copper impactor because CU is so rare in comets, and I think it is fairly rare on rocky planets which implies some sort of enrichment process. Would this enrichment imply some hydrothermal action? Copper is a pretty common trace element in basaltic systems, and given that the sediments in Gale Crater are largely derived from basaltic rocks I don't think it's unusual that we would detect it. The abstract is more about finding a way to measure it accurately with ChemCam, because the spectral fingerprint of Cu with that instrument is mostly hidden by more common trace elements That there was a notable increase around The Kimberley is interesting though, since the sediments that Curiosity studied there were also very potassium rich, particularly in the form of potassium feldspar. IIRC the sediments measured there are strongly suspected to preserve evidence of a volcanic/plutonic system in the Gale Crater rim, so it's not too surprising that there would also be a spike in Cu abundance (either sourced directly from the intrusion or its associated hydrothermal system) in those sediments as well. It's entirely possible Cu is driving the oxidation patches, but I'm having a hard time thinking of why it would be so oddly distributed. It probably wouldn't be within the sediments when they were delivered into the lake basin, since these were probably far enough from shore that everything getting deposited out would be homogeneous. A hydrothermal source is also hard to explain, because then you'd have to explain why you see it within a single narrow stratigraphic interval that stretches a significant way around the northern base of Mt. Sharp. I don't think the oxidized patches are located around anything resembling hydrothermal veins, either. Could be a diagenetic reaction moving Cu around, though. |
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Dec 6 2018, 05:20 AM
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#603
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Member Group: Members Posts: 684 Joined: 24-July 15 Member No.: 7619 |
A hydrothermal source is also hard to explain, because then you'd have to explain why you see it within a single narrow stratigraphic interval that stretches a significant way around the northern base of Mt. Sharp. IIRC, hydrothermal springs can be turned on or off by seismic activity. Once activated by a mars-quake, you'd get a narrow stratigraphic band of copper from hydrothermal deposition, at least until the minerals precipitate out and seal the fault. Then it's quiet, stratigraphic deposition continues until another seismic event opens the fault and hydrothermal circulation resumes. Hydrothermal systems often form vertical "dikes" along joints, but also follow between layers as "sills" sometimes for hundreds of km, so this could be associated with a very distant primary magma chamber. More interesting question, if VRR is enriched in copper, doesn't that require that are the other sediments be depleted? Was there a crater-lake wide leaching of copper, or did the upstream drainage just happen to erode through a copper outcrop and deposit the material in the deep channel at the base of Mount Sharp at a time when the crater flipped between a shallow lake and mud flat. |
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Dec 7 2018, 12:46 AM
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#604
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Member Group: Members Posts: 306 Joined: 4-October 14 Member No.: 7273 |
Full workspace pano of Lothian. Sounds like the mission team has decided to move on because of all the fractures.
Lothrian - Sol 2250 |
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