Compositional End Members in Gale Crater, Mars

Bedford, C.C.; Bridges, J.C.; Schwenzer, S.P.; Cousin, A. and Wiens, R.C. (2016). Compositional End Members in Gale Crater, Mars. In: 79th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, 7-12 Aug 2016, Berlin, Germany.

URL: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2016/pdf/60...

Abstract

Geochemical data returned from the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover over 1296 sols, has revealed a previously unforeseen martian geochemical complexity. Before Curiosity landed in Gale Crater, Martian SNC meteorite studies along with previous orbiter, rover and lander data showed Mars as being a predominantly basaltic planet with little magmatic differentiation. But through using ChemCam density contour plots to collate compositional data obtained by that instrument, we can identify 4 compositional end members in Gale sedimentary and igneous samples.

Viewing alternatives

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats