Extraformational sediment recycling on Mars

dc.citation.firstpage1508en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber6en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleGeosphereen_US
dc.citation.lastpage1537en_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber16en_US
dc.contributor.authorEdgett, Kenneth S.en_US
dc.contributor.authorBanham, Steven G.en_US
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Kristen A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorEdgar, Lauren A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorEdwards, Christopher S.en_US
dc.contributor.authorFairén, Alberto G.en_US
dc.contributor.authorFedo, Christopher M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorFey, Deirdra M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGarvin, James B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGrotzinger, John P.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGupta, Sanjeeven_US
dc.contributor.authorHenderson, Marie J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHouse, Christopher H.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMangold, Nicolasen_US
dc.contributor.authorMcLennan, Scott M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNewsom, Horton E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorRowland, Scott K.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSiebach, Kirsten L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorThompson, Lucyen_US
dc.contributor.authorVanBommel, Scott J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWiens, Roger C.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Rebecca M.E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorYingst, R. Aileenen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-08T18:37:39Zen_US
dc.date.available2021-02-08T18:37:39Zen_US
dc.date.issued2020en_US
dc.description.abstractExtraformational sediment recycling (old sedimentary rock to new sedimentary rock) is a fundamental aspect of Earth’s geological record; tectonism exposes sedimentary rock, whereupon it is weathered and eroded to form new sediment that later becomes lithified. On Mars, tectonism has been minor, but two decades of orbiter instrument–based studies show that some sedimentary rocks previously buried to depths of kilometers have been exposed, by erosion, at the surface. Four locations in Gale crater, explored using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Curiosity rover, exhibit sedimentary lithoclasts in sedimentary rock: At Marias Pass, they are mudstone fragments in sandstone derived from strata below an erosional unconformity; at Bimbe, they are pebble-sized sandstone and, possibly, laminated, intraclast-bearing, chemical (calcium sulfate) sediment fragments in conglomerates; at Cooperstown, they are pebble-sized fragments of sandstone within coarse sandstone; at Dingo Gap, they are cobble-sized, stratified sandstone fragments in conglomerate derived from an immediately underlying sandstone. Mars orbiter images show lithified sediment fans at the termini of canyons that incise sedimentary rock in Gale crater; these, too, consist of recycled, extraformational sediment. The recycled sediments in Gale crater are compositionally immature, indicating the dominance of physical weathering processes during the second known cycle. The observations at Marias Pass indicate that sediment eroded and removed from craters such as Gale crater during the Martian Hesperian Period could have been recycled to form new rock elsewhere. Our results permit prediction that lithified deltaic sediments at the Perseverance (landing in 2021) and Rosalind Franklin (landing in 2023) rover field sites could contain extraformational recycled sediment.en_US
dc.identifier.citationEdgett, Kenneth S., Banham, Steven G., Bennett, Kristen A., et al.. "Extraformational sediment recycling on Mars." <i>Geosphere,</i> 16, no. 6 (2020) The Geological Society of America: 1508-1537. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02244.1.en_US
dc.identifier.digital1508en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1130/GES02244.1en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/109802en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherThe Geological Society of Americaen_US
dc.rightsThis paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY-NC license.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en_US
dc.titleExtraformational sediment recycling on Marsen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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