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1.
Ann M. Vickery  H.J. Melosh 《Icarus》1983,56(2):299-318
Shergottites, Nakhlites, and Chassignites (SNC) are a small group of achondrites with crystallization ages of approximately 1.3 AE. Although it has recently been postulated the these meteorites came from Mars, the dynamical difficulties of ejecting large meteorites from a major planet have caused us to examine the alternative possibility that they crystallized from an impact melt formed on a large asteroid. The kinetic energy necessary to produce a crater of a given size is estimated; it is postulated that 25% of this energy is partitioned into heat, and the heat is distributed in this model in a pattern suggested by the impact melt distribution in Brent Crater and the radioactivity distribution in Cactus nucelear explosion crater. The time evolution of the temperature by heat conduction for several locations around the crater is computed. Crystallization times for the more deeply buried impact melts are form 5 × 104 years for 60-km-diameter craters and increase for larger craters. These times are long enough for the observed cumulate textures to develop. Once solidified, these rocks may be ejected from the asteroid by subsequent cratering events. Since asteroidal escape velocities are low, ejection may be accomplished by shock pressures too low to produce petrologically detectable shock features. The SNC meteorites could thus have originated in the asteroid belt, their young crystallization ages being due to melting induced by impacts occurring on asteroids long after condensation from the solar nebula. This scenario avoids the dynamical difficulties of a major planet origin, but raises questions of how the SNC's acquired their chemical and REE characteristics. To date, there seems to be no internally consistent model for the origin of these strange meteorites. The impact melt hypothesis is offered as a rational alternative to a Martian origin. Neither hypothesis explains all the problems.  相似文献   

2.
Abstract— We investigated the transfer of meteorites from Mars to Earth with a combined mineralogical and numerical approach. We used quantitative shock pressure barometry and thermodynamic calculations of post‐shock temperatures to constrain the pressure/temperature conditions for the ejection of Martian meteorites. The results show that shock pressures allowing the ejection of Martian meteorites range from 5 to 55 GPa, with corresponding post‐shock temperature elevations of 10 to about 1000 °C. With respect to shock pressures and post‐shock temperatures, an ejection of potentially viable organisms in Martian surface rocks seems possible. A calculation of the cooling time in space for the most highly shocked Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 was performed and yielded a best‐fit for a post‐shock temperature of 1000 °C and a meteoroid size of 0.4 to 0.6 m. The final burial depths of the sub‐volcanic to volcanic Martian rocks as indicated by textures and mineral compositions of meteorites are in good agreement with the postulated size of the potential source region for Martian meteorites during the impact of a small projectile (200 m), as defined by numerical modeling (Artemieva and Ivanov 2004). A comparison of shock pressures and ejection and terrestrial ages indicates that, on average, highly shocked fragments reach Earth‐crossing orbits faster than weakly shocked fragments. If climatic changes on Mars have a significant influence on the atmospheric pressure, they could account for the increase of recorded ejection events of Martian meteorites in the last 5 Ma.  相似文献   

3.
The recent witnessed fall of the meteorite Tissint represents the delivery of a pristine new sample from the surface of Mars. This meteorite provides an unprecedented opportunity to study a variety of aspects about the planet's evolution. Using the Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd isotopic systems, we determined that Tissint, a depleted shergottite, has a crystallization age of 574 ± 20 Ma, an initial ε143Nd = +42.2 ± 0.5, and an initial 87Sr/86Sr = 0.700760 ± 11. These initial Nd and Sr isotopic compositions suggest that Tissint originated from a mantle source on Mars that is distinct from the source reservoirs of the other Martian meteorites. The known crystallization ages, geochemical characteristics, ejection ages, and ejection dynamics of Tissint and other similarly grouped Martian meteorites suggest that they are likely derived from a source crater up to approximately 90 km in diameter with an age of approximately 1 Ma that is located on terrain that is approximately 600 million years old.  相似文献   

4.
What we have learned about Mars from SNC meteorites   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Abstract— The SNC meteorites are thought to be igneous martian rocks, based on their young crystallization ages and a close match between the composition of gases implanted in them during shock and the atmosphere of Mars. A related meteorite, ALH84001, may be older and thus may represent ancient martian crust. These petrologically diverse basalts and ultramafic rocks are mostly cumulates, but their parent magmas share geochemical and radiogenic isotopic characteristics that suggest they may have formed by remelting the same mantle source region at different times. Information and inferences about martian geology drawn from these samples include the following: Planetary differentiation occurred early at ~4.5 Ga, probably concurrently with accretion. The martian mantle contains different abundances of moderately volatile and siderophile elements and is more Fe-rich than that of the Earth, which has implications for its mineralogy, density, and origin. The estimated core composition has a S abundance near the threshold value for inner core solidification. The former presence of a core dynamo may be suggested by remanent magnetization in SNC meteorites, although these rocks may have been magnetized during shock. The mineralogy of martian surface units, inferred from reflectance spectra, matches that of basaltic shergottites, but SNC lithologies thought to have crystallized in the subsurface are not presently recognized. The rheological properties of martian magmas are more accurately derived from these meteorites than from observations of martian flow morphology, although the sampled range of magma compositions is limited. Estimates of planetary water abundance and the amount of outgassed water based on these meteorites are contradictory but overlap estimates based on geological observations and atmospheric measurements. Stable isotope measurements indicate that the martian hydrosphere experienced only limited exchange with the lithosphere, but it is in isotopic equilibrium with the atmosphere and has been since 1.3 Ga. The isotopically heavy atmosphere/hydrosphere composition deduced from these rocks reflects a loss process more severe than current atmospheric evolution models, and the occurrence of carbonates in SNC meteorites suggests that they, rather than scapolite or hydrous carbonates, are the major crustal sink for CO2. Weathering products in SNC meteorites support the idea of limited alteration of the lithosphere by small volumes of saline, CO2-bearing water. Atmospheric composition and evolution are further constrained by noble gases in these meteorites, although Xe and Kr isotopes suggest different origins for the atmosphere. Planetary ejection of these rocks has promoted an advance in the understanding of impact physics, which has been accomplished by a model involving spallation during large cratering events. Ejection of all the SNC meteorites (except ALH84001) in one or two events may provide a plausible solution to most constraints imposed by chronology, geochemistry, and cosmic ray exposure, although problems remain with this scenario; ALH84001 may represent older martian crust sampled during a separate impact.  相似文献   

5.
Crater densities on planetary surfaces allow assessing relative ages but so far firm calibration of so‐called cratering‐chronology models is available only for the Moon and limited to the past 4.1 billion years. Most planetary geological time scales are still model‐dependent, and essentially constrained by meteorite ages or by comparison to (dynamical) solar system evolution models. Here we describe in situ calibration of the Martian cratering chronology using cosmogenic and radiogenic isotope ages obtained by the NASA Curiosity rover. We determined the cratering‐rate ratio between Moon and Mars for recent times, and extended the calibration of cratering rates to earlier times than those based exclusively on lunar data. Our preferred interpretation supports monotonic flux decay since at least 4.24 Ga and likely since about 4.45 Ga, implying orbital migration of the giant planets, and its direct, transient, dynamical effect on the planetesimal populations was initiated early. But only Martian Sample Return will provide strongly needed capability for distinction of the different models currently available.  相似文献   

6.
Hydrous alteration of olivine macrocrysts in a Martian olivine phyric basalt, NWA 10416, and a terrestrial basalt from southern Colorado are examined using SEM, EPMA, TEM, and µXRD techniques. The olivines in the meteorite contain linear nanotubes of hydrous material, amorphous areas, and fluid dissolution textures quite distinct from alteration identified in other Martian meteorites. Instead, they bear resemblance to terrestrial deuteric alteration features. The presence of the hydrous alteration phase Mg‐laihunite within the olivines has been confirmed by µXRD analysis. The cores of the olivines in both Martian and terrestrial samples are overgrown by unaltered rims whose compositions match those of a separate population of groundmass olivines, suggesting that the core olivines are xenocrysts whose alteration preceded crystallization of the groundmass. The terrestrial sample is linked to deep crustal metasomatism and the “ignimbrite flare‐up” of the Oligocene epoch. The comparison of the two samples suggests the existence of an analogous relatively water‐rich magmatic reservoir on Mars.  相似文献   

7.
Abstract— This paper develops a methodology to establish absolute Martian ages by deriving isochrons on a plot of Martian impact crater density vs. crater diameter, calibrated by lunar crater/age data. The isochrons illustrated here are based on a Mars/Moon cratering ratio of 1.6 at constant size, but there is a factor of 2 to 4 uncertainty in this ratio and the consequent model ages. Martian crater diameter distributions are determined in several areas down to diameter D = 16–45 m; the shapes of the curves in young areas are found to be close to that of the predicted isochrons and close to the standard production function found by Neukum. The youngest areas studied here display the lunar-like production function down to D ~30 m, where saturation equilibrium sets in. Model crater retention ages of several volcanic units are found to be a few hundred million years or less, with estimated uncertainties ranging from a factor of 2 lower to a factor of 4 higher. The results are consistent with Martian meteorite ages. Volcanism on Mars has probably persisted into the last 10 to 15% of the planet's history and is likely ongoing. Because surfaces as young as a few hundred million years have reached crater saturation equilibrium at D < ~60 to 100 m, Mars is likely to have widespread impact-produced regoliths at least a few meters deep, and this may contribute to the widespread mobile dust and boulder fields of Mars.  相似文献   

8.
Abstract— The age, structure, composition, and petrogenesis of the martian lithosphere have been constrained by spacecraft imagery and remote sensing. How well do martian meteorites conform to expectations derived from this geologic context? Both data sets indicate a thick, extensive igneous crust formed very early in the planet's history. The composition of the ancient crust is predominantly basaltic, possibly andesitic in part, with sediments derived from volcanic rocks. Later plume eruptions produced igneous centers like Tharsis, the composition of which cannot be determined because of spectral obscuration by dust. Martian meteorites (except Allan Hills 84001) are inferred to have come from volcanic flows in Tharsis or Elysium, and thus are not petrologically representative of most of the martian surface. Remote‐sensing measurements cannot verify the fractional crystallization and assimilation that have been documented in meteorites, but subsurface magmatic processes are consistent with orbital imagery indicating thick crust and large, complex magma chambers beneath Tharsis volcanoes. Meteorite ejection ages are difficult to reconcile with plausible impact histories for Mars, and oversampling of young terrains suggests either that only coherent igneous rocks can survive the ejection process or that older surfaces cannot transmit the required shock waves. The mean density and moment of inertia calculated from spacecraft data are roughly consistent with the proportions and compositions of mantle and core estimated from martian meteorites. Thermal models predicting the absence of crustal recycling, and the chronology of the planetary magnetic field agree with conclusions from radiogenic isotopes and paleomagnetism in martian meteorites. However, lack of vigorous mantle convection, as inferred from meteorite geochemistry, seems inconsistent with their derivation from the Tharsis or Elysium plumes. Geological and meteoritic data provide conflicting information on the planet's volatile inventory and degassing history, but are apparently being reconciled in favor of a periodically wet Mars. Spacecraft measurements suggesting that rocks have been chemically weathered and have interacted with recycled saline groundwater are confirmed by weathering products and stable isotope fractionations in martian meteorites.  相似文献   

9.
Elemental abundances for volatile siderophile and chalcophile elements for Mars inform us about processes of accretion and core formation. Such data are few for Martian meteorites, and are often lacking in the growing number of desert finds. In this study, we employed laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) to analyze polished slabs of 15 Martian meteorites for the abundances of about 70 elements. This technique has high sensitivity, excellent precision, and is generally accurate as determined by comparisons of elements for which literature abundances are known. However, in some meteorites, the analyzed surface is not representative of the bulk composition due to the over‐ or underrepresentation of a key host mineral, e.g., phosphate for rare earth elements (REE). For other meteorites, the range of variation in bulk rastered analyses of REE is within the range of variation reported among bulk REE analyses in the literature. An unexpected benefit has been the determination of the abundances of Ir and Os with a precision and accuracy comparable to the isotope dilution technique. Overall, the speed and small sample consumption afforded by this technique makes it an important tool widely applicable to small or rare meteorites for which a polished sample was prepared. The new volatile siderophile and chalcophile element abundances have been employed to determine Ge and Sb abundances, and revise Zn, As, and Bi abundances for the Martian mantle. The new estimates of Martian mantle composition support core formation at intermediate pressures (14 ± 3 GPa) in a magma ocean on Mars.  相似文献   

10.
Clark R. Chapman 《Icarus》1974,22(3):272-291
Computerized cratering-obliteration models are developed for use in interpreting planetary surface histories in terms of the diameter-frequency relations for craters classified by morphology. An application is made to a portion of the lunar uplands, revealing several episodes of blanketing, presumably due to the formation of some of the major basins.Application to Martian craters leads to the following picture of Martian cratering and obliteration history. During a probable period of intense early bombardment, craters were degraded by two processes: a depositional-type process connected with the declining cratering rate, and a process tending to flatten the largest craters (e.g., isostatic adjustment). During late stages of the early bombardment, or subsequent to it, there occurred a major relative episode of obliteration (probably atmosphere related), but it ceased concurrently with the massive (presumably volcanic) resurfacing of the cratered plains. Subsequent resurfacing episodes have occurred in the smooth plain terrains, but obliteration processes have been virtually absent in the low-latitude cratered terrains.Recent global Martian cratering interpretations of Hartmann and Soderblom are compared. Absolute cratering chronologies are only so good as knowledge of the absolute cratering flux on Mars. The crater data of Arvidson, Mutch, and Jones do not confirm the basis, whereby Soderblom requires the dominant Martian crater obliteration process to be coincident in time with the early bombardment. If the asteroidal-cometary impact flux on Mars has averaged five times the lunar flux during post-lunar-mare epochs, then the obliterative episode lasted about half a billion years and occurred about 1.5 × 109 yr ago.  相似文献   

11.
Abstract— Impact cratering is an important geological process on Mars and the nature of Martian impact craters may provide important information as to the volatile content of the Martian crust. Terrestrial impact structures currently provide the only ground‐truth data as to the role of volatiles and an atmosphere on the impact‐cratering process. Recent advancements, based on studies of several well‐preserved terrestrial craters, have been made regarding the role and effect of volatiles on the impact‐cratering process. Combined field and laboratory studies reveal that impact melting is much more common in volatile‐rich targets than previously thought, so impact‐melt rocks, melt‐bearing breccias, and glasses should be common on Mars. Consideration of the terrestrial impact‐cratering record suggests that it is the presence or absence of subsurface volatiles and not the presence of an atmosphere that largely controls ejecta emplacement on Mars. Furthermore, recent studies at the Haughton and Ries impact structures reveal that there are two discrete episodes of ejecta deposition during the formation of complex impact craters that provide a mechanism for generating multiple layers of ejecta. It is apparent that the relative abundance of volatiles in the near‐surface region outside a transient cavity and in the target rocks within the transient cavity play a key role in controlling the amount of fluidization of Martian ejecta deposits. This study shows the value of using terrestrial analogues, in addition to observational data from robotic orbiters and landers, laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling to explore the Martian impact‐cratering record.  相似文献   

12.
The investigation into whether Mars contains signatures of past or present life is of great interest to science and society. Amino acids and nucleobases are compounds that are essential for all known life on Earth and are excellent target molecules in the search for potential Martian biomarkers or prebiotic chemistry. Martian meteorites represent the only samples from Mars that can be studied directly in the laboratory on Earth. Here, we analyzed the amino acid and nucleobase content of the shergottite Roberts Massif (RBT) 04262 using liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry. We did not detect any nucleobases above our detection limit in formic acid extracts; however, we did measure a suite of protein and nonprotein amino acids in hot‐water extracts with high relative abundances of β‐alanine and γ‐amino‐n‐butyric acid. The presence of only low (to absent) levels of several proteinogenic amino acids and a lack of nucleobases suggest that this meteorite fragment is fairly uncontaminated with respect to these common biological compounds. The distribution of straight‐chained amine‐terminal n‐ω‐amino acids in RBT 04262 resembled those previously measured in thermally altered carbonaceous meteorites (Burton et al. 2012; Chan et al. 2012). A carbon isotope ratio of ?24‰ ± 6‰ for β‐alanine in RBT 04262 is in the range of reduced organic carbon previously measured in Martian meteorites (Steele et al. 2012). The presence of n‐ω‐amino acids may be due to a high temperature Fischer‐Tropsch‐type synthesis during igneous processing on Mars or impact ejection of the meteorites from Mars, but more experimental data are needed to support these hypotheses.  相似文献   

13.
The lunar cratering rate is known reasonably well from comparison of observed crater frequencies with radiometric ages. Attempts to obtain a cratering rate for Mars have usually been based on calculation of the relative flux of asteroidal and cometary bodies on Mars and the Moon.The asteroidal flux on Mars cannot be obtained in a simple way from the observed number of Mars-crossing asteroids, i.e. those asteroids with perihelia within the orbit of Mars. Calculations of the secular perturbations of these asteroids by several authors, particularly williams, has shown that most of these bodies rarely come near even to Mars' aphelion when they are in the vicinity of the ecliptic plane, and their contribution to the Martian meteoroid flux is much smaller than has been commonly stated. Ring asteroids in the vicinity of the secular resonances discovered by Williams, high velocity fragments of asteroids on the inner edge of the asteroid belt, and possibly objects obtained from the 2:1 Kirkwood gap by a process described by Zimmerman and Wetherill are probably of greater importance in the 103-106 g meteoroid size range but are much less important in the production of large craters. Calculations of the Martian asteroidal and cometary impact rate are made, but the present unavoidable uncertainties in the results of these calculations result in their being of little value in establishing a Martian chronology. Suggestions for improving this situation are discussed.Paper presented at the Lunar Science Institute Conference on Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Moon and Planets, January 10–12, 1973.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract— Until recently, the SNC meteorites represented the only source of information about the chemistry and petrology of the Martian surface and mantle. The Mars Exploration Rovers have now analyzed rocks on the Martian surface, giving additional insight into the petrology and geochemistry of the planet. The Adirondack basalts, analyzed by the MER Spirit in Gusev crater, are olivine‐phyric basaltic rocks which have been suggested to represent liquids, and might therefore provide new insights into the chemistry of the Martian mantle. Experiments have been conducted on a synthetic Humphrey composition at upper mantle and crustal conditions to investigate whether this composition might represent a primary mantle‐derived melt. The Humphrey composition is multiply saturated at 12.5 kbar and 1375 °C with olivine and pigeonite; a primary anhydrous melt derived from a “chondritic” mantle would be expected to be saturated in orthopyroxene, not pigeonite. In addition, the olivine and pigeonite present at the multiple saturation are too ferroan to have been from a Martian mantle as is understood now. Therefore, it seems likely that the Humphrey composition does not represent a primary anhydrous melt from the Martian mantle, but was affected by mineral/melt fractionations at lower (crustal) pressures.  相似文献   

15.
Knowledge of Martian igneous basaltic compositions is crucial for constraining mantle evolution, including early differentiation and mantle convection. Primitive magmas provide direct information about their mantle source regions, but most Martian meteorites either contain cumulate olivine or crystallized from fractionated melts. The recently discovered Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 5789 is an olivine‐phyric shergottite. NWA 5789 has special significance among the Martian meteorites because it appears to represent one of the most magnesian Martian magmas known, other than Yamato (Y) 980459. Its most magnesian olivine cores (Fo85) are in Mg‐Fe equilibrium with a magma of the bulk rock composition, suggesting that the bulk represents a magma composition. Based on the Al/Ti ratio of its pyroxenes, we infer that the rock began to crystallize at a high pressure consistent with conditions in Mars’ lower crust/upper mantle. It continued and completed its crystallization closer to the surface, where cooling was rapid and produced a mesostasis of radiating sprays of plagioclase and pyroxene. The mineralogy, petrology, mineral chemistry, and bulk rock composition of NWA 5789 are very similar to those of Y‐980459. The similarities between the two meteorites suggest that NWA 5789 (like Y‐980459) represents a primitive, mantle‐derived magma composition. They also suggest the possibility that NWA 5789 and Y‐980459 formed in the same lava flow. However, based on the mineralogy and texture of its mesostasis, NWA 5789 must have cooled more slowly than Y‐980459. NWA 5789 will help elucidate the igneous geology and geochemistry of Mars.  相似文献   

16.
Abstract– The oxygen fugacities recorded in the nakhlites Nakhla, Yamato‐000593 (Y‐000593), Lafayette, and NWA998 were studied by applying the Fe,Ti‐oxide oxybarometer. Oxygen fugacities obtained cluster closely around the FMQ (Fayalite–Magnetite–Quartz) buffer (NWA998 = FMQ ? 0.8; Y‐000593 = FMQ ? 0.7; Nakhla = FMQ; Lafayette = FMQ + 0.1). The corresponding equilibration temperatures are 810 °C for Nakhla and Y‐000593, 780 °C for Lafayette and 710 °C for NWA998. All nakhlites record oxygen fugacities significantly higher and with a tighter range than those determined for Martian basalts, i.e., shergottites whose oxygen fugacities vary from FMQ ? 1 to FMQ ? 4. It has been known for some time that nakhlites are different from other Martian meteorites in chemistry, mineralogy, and crystallization age. The present study adds oxygen fugacity to this list of differences. The comparatively large variation in fO2 recorded by shergottites was interpreted by Herd et al. (2002) as reflecting variable degrees of contamination with crustal fluids that would also carry a light rare earth element (REE)‐enriched component. The high oxygen fugacities and the large light REE enrichment of nakhlites fit qualitatively in this model. In detail, however, it is found that the inferred contaminating phase in nakhlites must have been different from those in shergottites. This is supported by unique 182W/184W and 142Nd/144Nd ratios in nakhlites, which are distinct from other Martian meteorites. It is likely that the differences in fO2 between nakhlites and other Martian meteorites were established very early in the history of Mars. Parental trace element rich and trace element poor regions (reservoirs) of Mars mantle ( Brandon et al. 2000 ) must have been kept isolated throughout Martian history. Our results further show significant differences in closure temperature among the different nakhlites. The observed range in equilibration temperatures together with similar fO2 values is attributable to crystallization of nakhlites in the same cumulate pile or lava layer at different burial depths from 0.5 to 30 m below the Martian surface in agreement with Mikouchi et al. (2003) and is further confirmed by similar crystallization ages of about 1.3 Ga ago (e.g., Misawa et al. 2003 ).  相似文献   

17.
Abstract— Four of the SNC meteorites of putative Martian origin are falls. Two of these fell on October 3: Chassigny in 1815 and Zagami in 1962. The probability of this coincidence arising from random fall days is approximately 1 in 60. If this coincidence is not the result of chance, it suggests that some of the SNC meteorites are derived from a meteoroid stream. In that Chassigny and Zagami span nearly the full range of SNC lithologies and histories, the coincidence of fall days is consistent with suggestions that all of the SNCs came from a single site (impact crater) on their parent planet.  相似文献   

18.
Abstract— The crystallization ages of martian (SNC) meteorites give evidence that martian volcanism has continued until recent times‐perhaps until the present. These meteorites also indicate that the mantle source regions of this volcanism are modestly to extremely depleted by terrestrial standards. These 2 observations produce a conundrum. How is it that such depleted source regions have produced basaltic magma for such a long time? This contribution attempts to quantify the radiogenic heat production in 2 distinct martian mantle source regions: those of the shergottites and nakhlites. Compared to the depleted upper mantle of the Earth (MORB), the nakhlite source region is depleted by about a factor of 2, and the shergottite source region is depleted by a factor of 6. According to current geophysical models, the nakhlite source contains the minimum amount of radioactive heat production to sustain whole‐mantle convection and basalt generation over geologic time. A corollary of this conclusion is that the shergottite source contains much too little radioactivity to produce recent (<200 Ma) basalts. A model martian interior with a deep nakhlite mantle that is insulated by a shallow shergottite mantle may allow basalt production from both source regions if the divide between the nakhlite‐shergottite mantles acts as a thermal boundary layer. Similarities between lunar and martian isotopic reservoirs indicate that the Moon and Mars may have experienced similar styles of differentiation.  相似文献   

19.
Magnetic measurements of meteorites suggest that small bodies (e.g. asteroids) in the Solar System have small but distinct magnetic fields produced by the bulk remanent magnetisation (NRM) of the body. Here we report calculations of magnetic fields of small bodies, assuming that they can be approximated as homogeneously magnetised spheres with dipole moments derived from NRM data on known meteorites. The magnetic fields are compared with the field of the asteroid 951 Gaspra measured by spacecraft Galileo in 1991 (Kivelson et al., 1993). The result of this comparison suggests that the field of Gaspra could be caused by an L-, H- or E-chondritic or a pallasite body. The spectral reflectance data on Gaspra suggest, however, that it is a basaltic achondrite. The problem can be resolved if Gaspra is a differentiated body, its surface material being closer to that of basaltic achondrites, and the bulk closer to ordinary chondrites or pallasites. We also present magnetic anomaly profiles along the surface of Mars such as would be measured with a magnetometer installed on a Rover-type vehicle by assuming that the main sources of the surface anomalies are the NRMs of the boulders on the Martian surface. The NRM values are taken from the data measured on SNC meteorites. The results suggest large oscillations in magnetic field intensity at the Martian surface.  相似文献   

20.
Abstract— Phase equilibrium experiments have been performed on a synthetic analog of the Gusev plains basalt composition from the Spirit landing site on Mars. Near‐liquidus phase relations were determined over the pressure range of 0.1 to 1.5 GPa and at temperatures from 1125 to 1390 °C in a piston cylinder apparatus and 1 atm gas mixing furnace. The composition is multiply saturated with olivine, orthopyroxene, and spinel near its liquidus at 1320 °C and 1.0 GPa, or 85 km depth on Mars, placing an upper limit constraint on the thickness of the Martian lithosphere at the time of eruption. Our experimental work suggests that the Gusev basalts are anhydrous batch melts of a primitive Martian mantle similar to the composition estimated by Dreibus and Wänke (1984). The temperature of multiple saturation indicates the persistence of high mantle potential temperatures on Mars, similar to those on the modern Earth, until at least the very latest Noachian (3.7 Ga). These high mantle temperatures would be responsible for persistent basaltic volcanism throughout the southern highlands during the first billion years of Mars's history. The source for Gusev basalts differs strongly from the source for shergottite meteorites, reinforcing the idea of the absence of global mantle convection and mixing on Mars. The existence of a relatively primitive mantle reservoir requires that at least part of the mantle underwent little modification during early planetary differentiation.  相似文献   

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