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Evidence for magmatic evolution and diversity on Mars from infrared observations

An Addendum to this article was published on 11 August 2005

Abstract

Compositional mapping of Mars at the 100-metre scale with the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) has revealed a wide diversity of igneous materials. Volcanic evolution produced compositions from low-silica basalts to high-silica dacite in the Syrtis Major caldera. The existence of dacite demonstrates that highly evolved lavas have been produced, at least locally, by magma evolution through fractional crystallization. Olivine basalts are observed on crater floors and in layers exposed in canyon walls up to 4.5 km beneath the surface. This vertical distribution suggests that olivine-rich lavas were emplaced at various times throughout the formation of the upper crust, with their growing inventory suggesting that such ultramafic (picritic) basalts may be relatively common. Quartz-bearing granitoid rocks have also been discovered, demonstrating that extreme differentiation has occurred. These observations show that the martian crust, while dominated by basalt, contains a diversity of igneous materials whose range in composition from picritic basalts to granitoids rivals that found on the Earth.

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Figure 1: Daytime and night-time mosaics of THEMIS thermal images of the summit region of Syrtis Major showing the Nili Patera caldera and surrounding lava plains.
Figure 2: The floor of the Nili Patera caldera seen in a mosaic of THEMIS visual images.
Figure 3: Compositional unit map of Nili Patera and the surrounding lava plains derived from a THEMIS multispectral IR image.
Figure 4: The compositional units of the Nili Patera floor.
Figure 5: Mineral composition and abundance of Nili Patera floor units derived from deconvolution of TES spectra.
Figure 6: Comparison of the spectra of Si-K glass and illite clay with the spectrum of unit A.
Figure 7: Dacite abundance derived from the deconvolution of a THEMIS eight-band multi-spectra IR image of Nili Patera.
Figure 8: THEMIS compositional map of a portion of a crater in Aurora Planum.
Figure 9: The occurrence of quartz-bearing granitoid rocks mapped using THEMIS multi-spectral IR imaging.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Odyssey Spacecraft Teams at Lockheed Martin and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the THEMIS Operations Team at ASU, led by G. Mehall, the ASU Software Development Team, led by N. Gorelick, and the USGS ISIS Software Development Team, led by J. Torson.

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Correspondence to P. R. Christensen.

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Christensen, P., McSween, H., Bandfield, J. et al. Evidence for magmatic evolution and diversity on Mars from infrared observations. Nature 436, 504–509 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03639

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