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Jarosite as an indicator of water-limited chemical weathering on Mars

Nature volume 431, pages 821–823 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity identified the ferric sulphate mineral jarosite and possible relicts of gypsum at the Meridiani Planum landing site1. On Earth, jarosite has been found to form in acid mine drainage environments, during the oxidation of sulphide minerals2, and during alteration of volcanic rocks by acidic, sulphur-rich fluids near volcanic vents3. Jarosite formation is thus thought to require a wet, oxidizing and acidic environment. But jarosite on Earth only persists over geologically relevant time periods in arid environments because it rapidly decomposes to produce ferric oxyhydroxides in more humid climates4. Here we present equilibrium thermodynamic reaction-path simulations that constrain the range of possible conditions under which such aqueous alteration phases are likely to have formed on Mars. These calculations simulate the chemical weathering of basalt at relevant martian conditions. We conclude that the presence of jarosite combined with residual basalt at Meridiani Planum indicates that the alteration process did not proceed to completion, and that following jarosite formation, arid conditions must have prevailed.

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Figure 1: Predicted alteration minerals, reported as weight per cent of alteration assemblage at a water:rock ratio of 1:1.
Figure 2: Eh–pH phase diagram of the Fe-S-Ca-Na-HCO3-H2O system at 298 K.

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Acknowledgements

M.E.E.M. thanks J. Jerden for assistance in the early stages of the project and A. Madden for discussions. M.E.E.M. and R.J.B. thank H. McSween for comments on early interpretations. This project was partially funded by a grant to R.J.B. from the NSF.Authors' contributions M.E.E.M. conducted the modelling with advice from R.J.B. and J.D.R. Interpretations were a result of collaborations between M.E.E.M., R.J.B. and J.D.R. The manuscript was written by M.E.E.M. with input from R.J.B. and J.D.R.

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  1. Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 4044 Derring Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA

    M. E. Elwood Madden, R. J. Bodnar & J. D. Rimstidt

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  1. M. E. Elwood Madden
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Correspondence to M. E. Elwood Madden.

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Elwood Madden, M., Bodnar, R. & Rimstidt, J. Jarosite as an indicator of water-limited chemical weathering on Mars. Nature 431, 821–823 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02971

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