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Planetary Science

Organic burial site on Mars?

Nature Geoscience volume 1, pages 348–350 (2008)Cite this article

The Nili Fossae region on Mars is one of the places earmarked for the search of evidence for life. A combination of geomorphological and mineralogical data from the area suggest ideal conditions for the burial of organic matter.

Since the first surface observations of Mars were sent back to Earth thirty years ago, our view of the martian surface has evolved substantially. The planet has not always been a cold and dry desert. Instead, the martian environment is affected strongly by liquid water. But the data returned from different instruments on orbiting spacecraft and, to a smaller extent, from landing vehicles are often difficult to reconcile into a coherent story of martian surface evolution. Geomorphologic evidence for hydrologic activity such as lakes or valley networks1 has appeared to be disconnected from mineralogical observations for hydrated phases of minerals that suggest the presence of liquid water2. On page 355 of this issue, Ehlmann et al.3 show that clay deposits formed in the vicinity of Jezero impact crater in the Nili Fossae region were eroded in a fluvial and deltaic environment and then deposited in the crater, suggestive of water-rich weathering in the early martian environment.

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Figure 1: Mawrth Vallis region on Mars with superimposed clay deposits.

MARS EXPRESS / OMEGA / HRSC

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  1. Vincent Chevrier is at the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Science, MUSE 202, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA. vchevrie@uark.edu,

    Vincent Chevrier

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  1. Vincent Chevrier
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Chevrier, V. Organic burial site on Mars?. Nature Geosci 1, 348–350 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo212

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