Search Publications
Hydrous minerals on Mars as seen by the CRISM and OMEGA imaging spectrometers: Updated global view
Mangold, N.; Bibring, J. -P.; Poulet, F. +2 more
The surface of Mars has preserved the record of early environments in which its basaltic crust was altered by liquid water. These aqueous environments have survived in the form of hydrological morphologies and alteration minerals, including clays and hydrated salts. Because these minerals probe on Earth aqueous environments compatible with biotic …
Sequence of infilling events in Gale Crater, Mars: Results from morphology, stratigraphy, and mineralogy
Le Deit, Laetitia; Hauber, Ernst; Jaumann, Ralf +3 more
Crater is filled by sedimentary deposits including a mound of layered deposits, Aeolis Mons. Using orbital data, we mapped the crater infillings and measured their geometry to determine their origin. The sediment of Aeolis Mons is interpreted to be primarily air fall material such as dust, volcanic ash, fine-grained impact products, and possibly s…
Global investigation of olivine on Mars: Insights into crust and mantle compositions
Bibring, J. -P.; Gondet, B.; Langevin, Y. +4 more
present the distribution of olivine on Mars, derived from spectral parameters based on the 1 µm olivine absorption band. The olivine can be defined with respect to two spectral end-members: type 1 corresponds to olivine with low iron content and/or small grain size and/or small abundance, and type 2, which corresponds to olivine with higher iron c…
Three-dimensional Martian ionosphere model: I. The photochemical ionosphere below 180 km
Forget, F.; Chaufray, J. -Y.; Leblanc, F. +6 more
We describe the Mars ionosphere with unprecedented detail in 3-D, as simulated by a Mars general circulation model (the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique Mars GCM), and compare it with recent measurements. The model includes a number of recent extensions and improvements. Different simulations for a full Martian year have been performed. The e…
Rocket dust storms and detached dust layers in the Martian atmosphere
Määttänen, Anni; Forget, François; Spiga, Aymeric +2 more
Airborne dust is the main climatic agent in the Martian environment. Local dust storms play a key role in the dust cycle; yet their life cycle is poorly known. Here we use mesoscale modeling that includes the transport of radiatively active dust to predict the evolution of a local dust storm monitored by OMEGA on board Mars Express. We show that t…
Hydrovolcanic tuff rings and cones as indicators for phreatomagmatic explosive eruptions on Mars
Hauber, E.; Brož, P.
is a common natural phenomenon on Earth and should be common on Mars, too, since its surface shows widespread evidence for volcanism and near-surface water. We investigate fields of pitted cones in the Nephentes/Amenthes region at the southern margin of the ancient impact basin, Utopia, which were previously interpreted as mud volcanoes. The cone …
MAHLI at the Rocknest sand shadow: Science and science-enabling activities
Kennedy, M. R.; Deen, R. G.; Schmidt, M. +29 more
Martian solar days 57-100, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover acquired and processed a solid (sediment) sample and analyzed its mineralogy and geochemistry with the Chemistry and Mineralogy and Sample Analysis at Mars instruments. An aeolian deposit—herein referred to as the Rocknest sand shadow—was inferred to represent a global average …
Asynchronous formation of Hesperian and Amazonian-aged deltas on Mars and implications for climate
Hauber, E.; Platz, T.; Le Deit, L. +5 more
fluvial and lacustrine landforms on Mars are thought to be old and have formed more than ~3.8 Gyr ago, in the Noachian period. After a major climatic transition, surface liquid water became less abundant and finally disappeared almost completely. Recent work has shown that observational evidence for Hesperian and Amazonian aqueous processes is mor…
Mineralogy and morphology of geologic units at Libya Montes, Mars: Ancient aqueously derived outcrops, mafic flows, fluvial features, and impacts
Seelos, Frank P.; Murchie, Scott L.; Mustard, John F. +19 more
There is ample evidence of both ancient and long-lasting fluvial activity and chemical alteration in the Libya Montes region south of Isidis Basin. The region hosts Noachian to Amazonian aged surface rocks with extensive outcrops of olivine- and pyroxene-bearing material. Libya Montes also features surface outcrops and/or deposits hosting Fe/Mg-sm…
The spiral troughs of Mars as cyclic steps
Howard, Alan D.; Spiga, Aymeric; Holt, John W. +2 more
combine observations of stratigraphy, morphology, and atmospheric processes to relate the spiral troughs on Mars' polar layered deposits to a class of features known as cyclic steps. Cyclic steps are quasi-stable, repeating, and upstream-migrating bed forms that have been studied in terrestrial and submarine environments. The repeating pattern is …