Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T15:01:55.502Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Combination between Ca, P and Y in the Martian Meteorite NWA 6963 could be used as a strategy to indicate liquid water reservoirs on ancient Mars?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2018

Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias Open the ORCID record for Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias [Opens in a new window]
Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias: E-mail: bruno.astrobio@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although we have learned much about the geological characteristics and history of Mars, the gaps in our knowledge certainly exceed what we understand. Martian meteorites, such as Northwest Africa (NWA) 6963, can be excellent materials for understanding the present and past of Mars, as part of the records of the planet's evolution is preserved in these extraterrestrial rocks. Micro X-ray fluorescence provided data, in which it was possible to verify the presence of Ca, P and Y elements, which are call attention because they were detected superimposed in certain regions. The way these elements were detected indicates the formation of minerals composed by the combination of these elements, such as, for example, Calcite (CaCO3), Apatite [Ca5(PO4)3(OH, F, Cl)], Merrilite [Ca9NaMg (PO4)7] and Xenotime (YPO4). These minerals are great indicators of aqueous environments. In general, the formation of these minerals is due to processes involving hydrothermal fluids or sources (>100 °C). Some geological indications suggest that in the past there might have been a large amount of liquid water, which could have accumulated large reservoirs below the Martian surface. Thus, the laboratory study of Martian meteorites and interpretations of minerals present in these samples can contribute in a complementary way to the existing results of telescopic observations and/or missions of space probes as a strategy to indicate reservoirs of liquid water.

Keywords

Hydrothermal fluidmartian meteoriteNWA 6963μXRF
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 151 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brolly, C, Parnell, J and Bowden, S (2018) Surface mineral crusts: a potential strategy for sampling for evidence of life on Mars. International Journal of Astrobiology 1–11. doi: 10.1017/S1473550418000034.Google Scholar
BRUKER. M4 Tornado Bruker. Available at https://www.bruker.com/pt/products/x-ray-diffraction-and-elemental-analysis/micro-xrf-and-txrf/m4-tornado/technical-details.html>. Accessed in October 2017..+Accessed+in+October+2017.>Google Scholar
Cockell, CS (2015) Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Craddock, RA and Maxwell, TA (1993) The early Martian environment: clues from the cratered highlands and the precambrian Earth. In Squyres, S and Kasting, J (eds), Workshop on Early Mars: How Warm and How Wet?. Houston, TX: Lunar and Planetary Institute, pp. 9–10, LPI Technical Report 93–03, Part 1 (Abstract).Google Scholar
do Nascimento-Dias, BL et al. (2018) Probing the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the Martian meteorite NWA 7397 through μRaman and μXRF non-destructively. International Journal of Astrobiology 2018, 1–6. doi: 10.1017/S1473550418000022.Google Scholar
Ehlmann, BL and Edwards, CS (2014) Mineralogy of the Martian surface. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 42, 291–315.Google Scholar
Ehlmann, BL et al. (2011) Subsurface water and clay mineral formation during the early history of Mars. Nature 479(7371), 53–60.Google Scholar
Goldspiel, JM and Squyres, SW (1991) Ancient aqueous sedimentation on Mars. Icarus 89, 392–410.Google Scholar
Gross, J, Filiberto, J and Bell, AS (2013) Water in the Martian interior: evidence for terrestrial MORB mantle-like volatile contents from hydroxyl-rich apatite in olivine-phyric shergottite NWA 6234. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 369, 120–128.Google Scholar
Harlov, DE, Hans-jürgen, F and Timo, GN (2002) Fluid-induced nucleation of (Y + REE)-phosphate minerals within apatite: nature and experiment. Part I. Chlorapatite. American Mineralogist 87(2–3), 245–261.Google Scholar
Harlov, DE, Richard, W and Callum, J (2011) Hetherington. Fluid-mediated partial alteration in monazite: the role of coupled dissolution–reprecipitation in element redistribution and mass transfer. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 162(2), 329–348.Google Scholar
Hartmann, WK and Neukum, G (2001) Cratering chronology and the evolution of Mars. Space Science Reviews 96(1), 165–194.Google Scholar
Liu, Y et al. (2016) Rare-earth-element minerals in martian breccia meteorites NWA 7034 and 7533: implications for fluid–rock interaction in the martian crust. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 451, 251–262.Google Scholar
Mccubbin, FM and Jones, RH (2015) Extraterrestrial apatite: planetary geochemistry to astrobiology. Elements [S.l.] 11(3) 183–188.Google Scholar
Meteoritical Bulletin (2017) Meteoritics & Planetary Science. Iniciative: The Meteoritical Society. Available at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php (Accessed 06 de January de 2017).Google Scholar
Nascimento-Dias, BL et al. (2018) Utilization of nondestructive techniques for analysis of the Martian meteorite NWA 6963 and its implications for astrobiology. X-Ray Spectrometry 47(1), 86–91.Google Scholar
Nimmo, F and Tanaka, K (2005) Early crustal evolution of Mars. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 33, 133–161.Google Scholar
Schaefer, MW (1990) Geochemical evolution of the northern plains of Mars: early hydrosphere, carbonate development, and present morphology. Journal of Geophysical Research 95(14), 291–214, 300.Google Scholar
Scott, DH, Dohm, JM and Rice, JW Jr. (1995) Map of Mars showing channels and possible paleolake basins. U.S. Geological Survey. Miscellaneous Investment Series, Map.Google Scholar
Tartèse, R and Anand, M (2013) Late delivery of chondritic hydrogen into the lunar mantle; insights from mare basalts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 361, 480–486.Google Scholar
Wilson, NV, Agee, CB and Sharp, ZD (2012) New Martian Shergottite NWA 69634. 3rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.Google Scholar
Wolf, SF, Compton, JR and Gagnon, CJL (2012) Determination of 11 major and minor elements in chondritic meteorites by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Talanta 100, 276–281.Google Scholar