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Planetary science

Hidden martian carbonates

Nature Geoscience volume 3, pages 745–746 (2010)Cite this article

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Evidence for the sedimentary carbonate rocks proposed to be prevalent on Mars has generally been lacking. Carbonate-bearing rocks found in the Leighton Crater may be associated with the formation of methane detected in the martian atmosphere.

Today, the atmosphere of Mars is thin — with pressures between six and ten millibars — and consists predominantly of carbon dioxide. It may, however, have been much thicker in the past. The sequestration of much of the carbon dioxide of the ancient martian atmosphere by carbonate minerals could account for this apparent transformation, but evidence for abundant sedimentary carbonates is limited. Writing in Nature Geoscience, Michalski and Niles1 report the discovery of carbonate- and phyllosilicate-bearing rocks in the central peak of Leighton Crater, southwest of the large Syrtis Major shield volcano, a finding that suggests carbonate rocks may be buried deep in the martian crust.

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Figure 1: Layered carbonate- and phyllosilicate-bearing sediments in the central peak of Leighton Crater, Mars.

NASA

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  1. Timothy D. Glotch is at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2100, USA. tglotch@notes.cc.sunysb.edu,

    Timothy D. Glotch

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  1. Timothy D. Glotch
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Glotch, T. Hidden martian carbonates. Nature Geosci 3, 745–746 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1001

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