¹Kathleen C. Benison et al. (>10)
Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets)(in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE008155]
¹Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has examined and sampled sulfate-rich clastic rocks from the Hogwallow Flats member at Hawksbill Gap and the Yori Pass member at Cape Nukshak. Both strata are located on the Jezero crater western fan front, are lithologically and stratigraphically similar, and have been assigned to the Shenandoah formation. In situ analyses demonstrate that these are fine-grained sandstones composed of phyllosilicates, hematite, Ca-sulfates, Fe-Mg-sulfates, ferric sulfates, and possibly chloride salts. Sulfate minerals are found both as depositional grains and diagenetic features, including intergranular cement and vein- and vug-cements. Here, we describe the possibility of various sulfate phases to preserve potential biosignatures and the record of paleoenvironmental conditions in fluid and solid inclusions, based on findings from analog sulfate-rich rocks on Earth. The samples collected from these outcrops, Hazeltop and Bearwallow from Hogwallow Flats, and Kukaklek from Yori Pass, should be examined for such potential biosignatures and environmental indicators upon return to Earth.

¹Tom Seccull,^2,3Wesley C. Fraser,⁴Dominik A. Kiersz,⁵Thomas H. Puzia
The Planetary Science Journal 5, 42 Open Access Link to Article [DOI 10.3847/PSJ/ad16dd]
¹Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab, 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA; tom.seccull@proton.me
²Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
³Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
⁴Independent Researcher, Belfast, UK
⁵Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña MacKenna 4860, 7820436, Santiago, Chile

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