A native sulfur deposit in Gale crater, Mars
Abstract
Martian rocks are known to contain sulfur-bearing species, including sulfates and sulfides. These compounds record a sulfur cycle that operated over Mars’ geological evolution. We used the Curiosity rover to investigate a deposit of light-toned stones in Gediz Vallis, within Gale crater on Mars. We find that the stones are composed of native sulfur. The sulfur deposit appears to have formed in place, within a sinuous entrenched canyon cut into the floor of Gediz Vallis. The presence of native sulfur implies that a sulfur enrichment pathway involving buoyant subsurface fluids operated on ancient Mars. We propose that the primary source of this sulfur was magmatic vapor, which cooled in the near subsurface cryosphere and was released by decompression during the erosion of Gediz Vallis.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (23)
Scott J. VanBommel
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Jeff A. Berger
Amentum, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Penelope L. King
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
William E. Dietrich
Department of Earth & Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Ralf Gellert
Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Lucy M. Thompson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Ashwin R. Vasavada
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Alexander B. Bryk
Department of Earth & Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Edwin S. Kite
Joanna V. Clark
Texas State University, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Aster C. Cowart
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Rebecca M. E. Williams
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Sarah L. Simpson
Texas State University, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Heather B. Franz
Catherine D. O’Connell-Cooper
Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Michael A. McCraig
Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Abigail A. Fraeman
John R. Christian
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Abigail L. Knight
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Nicholas I. Boyd
Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Deirdra M. Fey
Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA, USA.
Benton C. Clark
Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA.
Christopher H. House
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.