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Cold glacial oceans would have inhibited phyllosilicate sedimentation on early Mars

Nature Geoscience volume 4, pages 667–670 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Phyllosilicate minerals are commonly found in marine sediments on Earth1,2. Accordingly, the presence of an ocean in the northern lowlands of Mars during the Noachian period would be expected to lead to the presence of abundant phyllosilicates in crust of the same age. However, mineralogical data from orbiting spectrometers show that phyllosilicates are rare in the Noachian-aged crust that is exposed in impact craters in the northern lowlands3. In contrast, phyllosilicate minerals are abundant in the equatorial and tropical highlands4,5, raising doubts about the presence of an ocean. Here we use climatic and geochemical model calculations and palaeohydrological reconstructions to assess the factors that control phyllosilicate synthesis and sedimentation on early Mars. Our model results show that temperatures in an ocean confined to latitudes poleward of 30° N would have been near freezing, which would have hindered the formation of phyllosilicate minerals in the ocean basin. In addition, the presence of cold-based glaciers surrounding the ocean would have limited the delivery of phyllosilicates from the highlands to the ocean basin. We therefore suggest that the presence of a cold, Noachian ocean could explain the paucity of phyllosilicates in the Noachian-aged crust of the northern lowlands.

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Figure 1: Energy-balance model for the climate in early Mars.
Figure 2: Glaciers on early Mars.
Figure 3: Comparison of a skjaergaard area and a martian fretted terrain region.
Figure 4: Synthesis of clays at subzero temperatures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave., Mountain View, California 94043, USA

    Alberto G. Fairén & Alfonso F. Davila

  2. Space Science and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA

    Alberto G. Fairén, Alfonso F. Davila & Christopher P. McKay

  3. Departamento de Geociencias Marinas, Universidad de Vigo, Lagoas Marcosende, Vigo 36200, Spain

    Luis Gago-Duport & Carolina Gil

  4. Department of Meteorology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

    Jacob D. Haqq-Misra

  5. Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

    James F. Kasting

Authors
  1. Alberto G. Fairén
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  2. Alfonso F. Davila
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  3. Luis Gago-Duport
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  4. Jacob D. Haqq-Misra
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  5. Carolina Gil
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  6. Christopher P. McKay
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  7. James F. Kasting
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Contributions

A.G.F. and A.F.D. designed research. L.G-D. and C.G. carried out the geochemical modelling. J.D.H-M. and J.F.K. generated the climatic model. C.P.M. analysed data and interpreted results. A.G.F. interpreted results and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Alberto G. Fairén.

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Fairén, A., Davila, A., Gago-Duport, L. et al. Cold glacial oceans would have inhibited phyllosilicate sedimentation on early Mars. Nature Geosci 4, 667–670 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1243

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