We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
What Lurks in the Martian Rocks and Soil? Investigations of Sulfates, Phosphates, and Perchlorates.
- Authors
Sobron, Pablo; Bishop, Janice L.; Blake, David F.; Chen, Bin; Rull, Fernando
- Abstract
We have characterized complex iron- and sulfate-bearing samples from Rio Tinto (Spain) using X-ray diffraction (XRD), visible-near infrared reflectance (VNIR) spectroscopy, and laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS). Samples were collected for this study from the Peña de Hierro region of Rio Tinto because this site represents a natural acidic environment that is a potential analog for such environments on Mars. We report an evaluation of the capabilities of these three techniques in performing detailed mineralogical characterization of potential Mars-like samples from a natural acidic terrestrial environment. Sulfate minerals found in these samples include gypsum, jarosite, and copiapite, and iron hydroxide bearing minerals found include goethite and ferrihydrite. These sulfate and iron hydroxide/ oxyhydroxide minerals were detected by XRD, VNIR, and LRS. Minor quartz was identified in some samples by XRD as well, but was not identified using VNIR spectroscopy. Coordinating the results from these three techniques provides a complete picture of the mineralogical composition of the samples. Field instruments were used for this study to mimic the kinds of analyses that could be performed in the field or on martian rovers.
- Subjects
OXIDES; SULFATES; IRON oxides; IRON sulfates; X-ray diffraction
- Publication
American Mineralogist, 2014, Vol 99, Issue 7, p1199
- ISSN
0003-004X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2138/am.2014.4595