¹A. Kereszturi,²Sz. Ormandi,²S. Jozsa
¹Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Konkoly Astronomical Institute, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklos utca 15-17
²Eotvos Lorand University of Sciences, Faculty of Science, Department of Petrology and Geochemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A

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Reference
Kereszturi A, Ormandi Sz, Jozsa S (2015) Processing in a transitional environment of CV and CK chondrites’ parent bodies in the light of mineralogical and petrological analysis of NWA 1465 CV3 Meteorite. Planetary and Space Science (in Press)
Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.02.016]

¹Wei, J., ¹Wang, A., ²Lambert, J.L., ³Wettergreen, D., ⁴Cabrol, N., ⁴Warren-Rhodes, K., ⁵Zacny, K.
¹Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences Washington University in St. Louis 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis MO 63130 USA
²Jet Propulsion Laboratory 4800 Oak Grove Drive CA 91109 USA
³The Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15213 USA
⁴The SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA
⁵HoneyBee Robotics and Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation 398 West Washington Blvd, Suite 200 Pasadena, CA 91103 USA

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Reference
Wei J, Wang A, Lambert JL, Wettergreen D, Cabrol N, Warren-Rhodes K, Zacny K (2015) Autonomous soil analysis by the Mars Micro-beam Raman Spectrometer (MMRS) on-board a rover in the Atacama Desert: a terrestrial test for planetary Exploration. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy (in Press)
Link to Article [DOI: 10.1002/jrs.4656]

¹John Carter, ²Christina Viviano-Beck, ³Damien Loizeau, ⁴Janice Bishop, ⁵Laetitia Le Deit
¹Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Paris-Sud University, France
²Applied Physics Laboratory, John Hopkins University, Laurel, MD
³Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Lyon 1 University, France
⁴SETI Institute, Mountatin View, CA
⁵Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Nantes University, France

The Martian surface bears the mineralogical record of ancient sub-surface and surface aqueous alteration environments. While most of the chemical alteration produced phyllosilicates, hydrated sulfates and chlorides, other less common compounds provide key constraints on localized geochemical settings, and help refine the geological evolution of the planet. Using orbital imaging spectroscopy data, we report the detection of the iron chlorine hydroxide akaganéite (β-FeOOH,Cl) at several locations of Mars. Akaganéite is known to form in highly saline and chlorinated aqueous environments, and its occurrence in at least three basins of Mars suggests the existence of near-marine (lagoon-like) evaporitic settings early in Mars’ history. As a frequently biogenic mineral, the in-depth study of akaganéite and its relationship with other minerals will also provide an additional benchmark for the assessment of pre-biotic to biotic activity on Mars.

Reference
Carter J, Viviano-Beck C, Loizeau D, Bishop J, Le Deite L (2015) Orbital detection and implications of akaganéite on Mars. Icarus (in Press)
Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.01.020]

Copyright Elsevier

¹Rebecca N. Greenberger,¹John F. Mustard,²Edward A. Cloutis,³Lisa M. Pratt,³Peter E. Sauer,²Paul Mann,⁴Kathryn Turner,⁵M. Darby Dyar,³David L. Bish
¹Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook St, Box 1846, Providence, RI 02912, USA
²Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9, Canada
³Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1405, USA
⁴Department of Physics, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9, Canada
⁵Mount Holyoke College, Department of Astronomy, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075, USA

Molecular hydrogen produced through iron oxidation during formation of serpentine and magnetite can sustain terrestrial subsurface ecosystems. The Fe3+ in serpentine partitions into octahedral and tetrahedral sites differently as serpentinization proceeds, and tetrahedral Fe3+ is present toward the end of serpentinization. We map Fe oxidation states in a serpentinite to determine the degree to which serpentinization progressed and where hydrogen production has been maximized to assess habitability at an abandoned chrysotile mine in Norbestos, Quebec, in association with the Canadian Space Agency’s Mars Methane Analogue Mission. We also analyzed stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen in carbonates to constrain the conditions of water–rock interaction during serpentinization. Iron oxidation and coordination was determined through field imaging of rock walls with a visible hyperspectral imager (420–720 nm), and samples collected from imaged rocks and elsewhere in the mine were imaged in the laboratory (420–1100 nm). Sample chemistry, mineralogy, and oxidation state were determined with laboratory measurements of visible through mid-infrared reflectance spectra, major element chemistry, mineralogy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Mapping with hyperspectral imaging of outcrops and hand samples shows that tetrahedral Fe3+ is common in serpentinites at this site, and results are confirmed through other measurements. Major element chemistry and mineralogy are consistent with serpentine plus minor carbonate. Carbonate samples show an exceptional range in δ13C (−13.14 to +16.12‰+16.12‰ VPDB) and δ18O (−15.48 to −3.20‰−3.20‰ VPDB) that vary with location in the mine. Carbonates south of a shear zone (δ13C more positive) likely formed during periods of serpentinization in a carbon-limited reservoir closed to carbon addition but open to methane escape. Carbonates in a shear zone (δ13C more negative) probably formed later at low temperatures through CO2-metasomatism or atmospheric weathering, and isotopic trends are consistent with kinetic fractionation. The extensive presence of tetrahedral Fe3+ in serpentine shows the system liberally produced H2 while the isotope systematics have implications for preservation of indicators of the aqueous conditions that formed serpentinites on Mars and their habitability.

Reference
Greenberger RN, Mustard JF, Cloutis EA, Pratt LM, Sauer PE, Mann P, Turner K, Dyar MD, Bish DL (2015) Serpentinization, iron oxidation, and aqueous conditions in an ophiolite: Implications for hydrogen production and habitability on Mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 416, 21–34
Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.02.002]

Copyright Elsevier

The most popular papers in Cosmochemistry Papers in February were:

1-Young ED, Manning CE, Schauble EA, Shahar A, Macris CA, Lazar C, Jordan M (2015) High-temperature equilibrium isotope fractionation of non-traditional stable isotopes: Experiments, theory, and applications. Chemical Geology 395, 176-195 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.12.013

2-Santos AR, Agee CB, McCubbin FM, Shearer CK, Burger PV, Tartèse R, Anand M (2015) Petrology of igneous clasts in Northwest Africa 7034: Implications for the petrologic diversity of the martian crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.02.023]

3-Jacquet E, Alard O, Gounelle M (2015) Trace element geochemistry of ordinary chondrite chondrules: the type I/type II chondrule dichotomy. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.02.005]

4-Luua T-H, Young ED, Gounelle M, Chaussidon M (2015) Short time interval for condensation of high-temperature silicates in the solar accretion disk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112,5, 1298–1303 Link to Article [doi: 10.1073/pnas.1414025112]

5-Davis AM, Richter FM Mendybaev RA, Janney PE, Wadhwa M, McKeegan KD (2015) Isotopic mass fractionation laws for magnesium and their effects on 26Al-26Mg systematics in solar system materials. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.01.034]