Trace element mobility in cold desert alteration systems

Steer, E. D.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Wright, I. P. and Grady, M. M. (2015). Trace element mobility in cold desert alteration systems. In: 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, article no. 1820.

Abstract

Introduction: Alteration of rocks is a fundamental process that occurs in all environments across the solar system in different forms. Understanding the patterns of alteration, the formation of different products, the liberation of certain elements from minerals can inform us about environments billions of years old. They can give us information about quantities of water, temperatures, atmospheres and biology. This study focuses on cold desert environments and the geochemical fingerprints processes leave in some of the most abundant minerals in the solar system.
Specifically, this study looks at how trace elements move in cold weathering systems, using Antarctic ordinary chondrites as an analogue, and how weathering features of cold environments combine with little water to interact with rocks.

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