^1,2X. Zhu,¹Y. Ye,^2,3R. Caracas
Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets)(in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008839]
¹State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
²Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
³The Research Center of the University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

The formation and evolution of rocky planets such as the Earth are marked by the heavy bombardments that dominated the first parts of the accretions. The outcomes of the large and giant impacts depend on the critical points and liquid-vapor equilibria of the constituent materials. Several determinations of the positions of the critical points have been conducted in the last few years, but they have mainly focused on systems devoid of volatiles. Here, we study, for the first time, a volatile-rich ubiquitous model mineral, phlogopite. For this, we employ ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Its critical point is constrained in the 0.40–0.68 g/cm3 density range and 5,000–5,500 K temperature range. This shows that adding volatiles decreases the critical temperature of silicates while having a smaller effect on the critical density. The vapor phase that forms under cooling from the supercritical state is dominated by hydrogen, present in the form of H2O, H, OH, with oxygen and various F-bearing phases coming next. Our simulations show that up to 93% of the total hydrogen is retained in the silicate melt. Our results suggest that early magma oceans must have been hydrated. In particular for the Moon’s history, even if catastrophic dehydrogenation occurred during the cooling of the lunar magma ocean, the amount of water incorporated during its formation could have been sufficient to explain the amounts of water found today in the last lunar samples.

¹W. H. Farrand et al. (>10)
Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets)(in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008645]
¹Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

The Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been examining strata from a period of Martian history where extensive clay mineral formation transitioned to sulfate mineral formation. This mineralogic change corresponds to a change from a wetter to a more arid climate. Among the tools used by Curiosity to study the rocks that recorded this transition is the multispectral capability of its Mast Camera (Mastcam). The Mastcam filter wheel, in combination with its Bayer Pattern filter focal plane array has provided multispectral scenes recorded in 12 spectral bands over the 445–1,013 nm spectral range. Here, Mastcam multispectral results from the rover’s exploration of predominantly sulfate-bearing strata that bracket a distinct dark-toned resistant stratigraphic marker unit, now referred to as the Amapari Marker Band (AMB), are presented in association with supporting information from some of Curiosity’s other instruments. Using an agglomerative hierarchical clustering approach, six spectral classes were derived. These classes included three stratigraphic classes plus a class indicating more intense diagenetic alteration and classes of dark-toned float rocks and a set of Fe-Ni meteorites. These spectral classes were compared to the spectra of analogous terrestrial materials. Among the observations, a distinct tonal and color unit was observed directly below the Amapari Marker Band. Several lines of evidence suggest this narrow interval is an alteration horizon. The alteration could have resulted from diagenesis, exposure as a weathering surface, or from introduction of water associated with the deposition of the lower AMB.