High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars

Nina L. Lanza; Woodward W. Fischer; Roger C. Wiens; John Grotzinger; Ann M. Ollila; Agnes Cousin; Ryan B. Anderson; Benton C. Clark; Ralf Gellert; Nicolas Mangold; Sylvestre Maurice; Stéphane Le Mouélic; Marion Nachon; Mariek Schmidt; Jeffrey Berger; Samuel M. Clegg; Olivier Forni; Craig Hardgrove; Noureddine Melikechi; Horton E. Newsom; Violaine Sautter

doi:10.1002/2014GL060329

High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars

Nina L. Lanza, Woodward W. Fischer, Roger C. Wiens, John Grotzinger, Ann M. Ollila, Agnes Cousin, Ryan B. Anderson, Benton C. Clark, Ralf Gellert, Nicolas Mangold, Sylvestre Maurice, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Marion Nachon, Mariek Schmidt, Jeffrey Berger, Samuel M. Clegg, Olivier Forni, Craig Hardgrove, Noureddine Melikechi, Horton E. NewsomViolaine Sautter

Earth and Space Exploration, School of (SESE)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

The surface of Mars has long been considered a relatively oxidizing environment, an idea supported by the abundance of ferric iron phases observed there. However, compared to iron, manganese is sensitive only to high redox potential oxidants, and when concentrated in rocks, it provides a more specific redox indicator of aqueous environments. Observations from the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover indicate abundances of manganese in and on some rock targets that are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than previously observed on Mars, suggesting the presence of an as-yet unidentified manganese-rich phase. These results show that the Martian surface has at some point in time hosted much more highly oxidizing conditions than has previously been recognized.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	5755-5763
Number of pages	9
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	41
Issue number	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060329
State	Published - Aug 28 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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10.1002/2014GL060329

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Lanza, N. L., Fischer, W. W., Wiens, R. C., Grotzinger, J., Ollila, A. M., Cousin, A., Anderson, R. B., Clark, B. C., Gellert, R., Mangold, N., Maurice, S., Le Mouélic, S., Nachon, M., Schmidt, M., Berger, J., Clegg, S. M., Forni, O., Hardgrove, C., Melikechi, N., ... Sautter, V. (2014). High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(16), 5755-5763. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060329

Lanza, NL, Fischer, WW, Wiens, RC, Grotzinger, J, Ollila, AM, Cousin, A, Anderson, RB, Clark, BC, Gellert, R, Mangold, N, Maurice, S, Le Mouélic, S, Nachon, M, Schmidt, M, Berger, J, Clegg, SM, Forni, O, Hardgrove, C, Melikechi, N, Newsom, HE & Sautter, V 2014, 'High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 41, no. 16, pp. 5755-5763. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060329

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title = "High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars",

abstract = "The surface of Mars has long been considered a relatively oxidizing environment, an idea supported by the abundance of ferric iron phases observed there. However, compared to iron, manganese is sensitive only to high redox potential oxidants, and when concentrated in rocks, it provides a more specific redox indicator of aqueous environments. Observations from the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover indicate abundances of manganese in and on some rock targets that are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than previously observed on Mars, suggesting the presence of an as-yet unidentified manganese-rich phase. These results show that the Martian surface has at some point in time hosted much more highly oxidizing conditions than has previously been recognized.",

author = "Lanza, {Nina L.} and Fischer, {Woodward W.} and Wiens, {Roger C.} and John Grotzinger and Ollila, {Ann M.} and Agnes Cousin and Anderson, {Ryan B.} and Clark, {Benton C.} and Ralf Gellert and Nicolas Mangold and Sylvestre Maurice and {Le Mou{\'e}lic}, St{\'e}phane and Marion Nachon and Mariek Schmidt and Jeffrey Berger and Clegg, {Samuel M.} and Olivier Forni and Craig Hardgrove and Noureddine Melikechi and Newsom, {Horton E.} and Violaine Sautter",

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AU - Lanza, Nina L.

AU - Fischer, Woodward W.

AU - Wiens, Roger C.

AU - Grotzinger, John

AU - Ollila, Ann M.

AU - Cousin, Agnes

AU - Anderson, Ryan B.

AU - Clark, Benton C.

AU - Gellert, Ralf

AU - Mangold, Nicolas

AU - Maurice, Sylvestre

AU - Le Mouélic, Stéphane

AU - Nachon, Marion

AU - Schmidt, Mariek

AU - Berger, Jeffrey

AU - Clegg, Samuel M.

AU - Forni, Olivier

AU - Hardgrove, Craig

AU - Melikechi, Noureddine

AU - Newsom, Horton E.

AU - Sautter, Violaine

PY - 2014/8/28

Y1 - 2014/8/28

N2 - The surface of Mars has long been considered a relatively oxidizing environment, an idea supported by the abundance of ferric iron phases observed there. However, compared to iron, manganese is sensitive only to high redox potential oxidants, and when concentrated in rocks, it provides a more specific redox indicator of aqueous environments. Observations from the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover indicate abundances of manganese in and on some rock targets that are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than previously observed on Mars, suggesting the presence of an as-yet unidentified manganese-rich phase. These results show that the Martian surface has at some point in time hosted much more highly oxidizing conditions than has previously been recognized.

AB - The surface of Mars has long been considered a relatively oxidizing environment, an idea supported by the abundance of ferric iron phases observed there. However, compared to iron, manganese is sensitive only to high redox potential oxidants, and when concentrated in rocks, it provides a more specific redox indicator of aqueous environments. Observations from the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover indicate abundances of manganese in and on some rock targets that are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than previously observed on Mars, suggesting the presence of an as-yet unidentified manganese-rich phase. These results show that the Martian surface has at some point in time hosted much more highly oxidizing conditions than has previously been recognized.

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High manganese concentrations in rocks at Gale crater, Mars

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