SPECTROSCOPY OF MARS ANALOG SAMPLES TO INFORM IDENTIFICATION OF MINERALS AND CONSTRAIN GEOCHEMICAL ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS (Invited Presentation)

Spectral characterization of Mars analogs from variable environments provides essential ground truthing for Martian missions. Multiple studies of VNIR and mid-IR reflectance, Mössbauer, Raman and emission spectroscopy have been performed on well-characterized analog samples. This presentation covers studies of altered volcanic rocks from Iceland [1], Haleakala, Maui [2], near Kilauea, Hawaii [3,4] and LaSolfatara in Italy [5], where clays, silica and sulfates formed in pedogenic, hydrothermal, subglacial and solfataric environments [1-5]. Hot springs precipitates from Yellowstone [6] and Iceland [7] were analyzed where siliceous sinters, carbonates, and ferrihydrite formed. Analyses of cold desert sediments from the Antarctic Dry Valleys found primarily isochemical alteration with limited formation of salt and clay minerals in the surface sediments [8], while abundant sulfates, Cl salts, carbonates and clays have been detected in subsurface environments [9-10]. Spectral analyses of these analog materials inform our understanding of the surface of Mars and other planetary bodies through remote sensing.

References: [1] Bishop J.L. et al. (2002). In: Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth and Mars (Geological Society, London), 371-392. [2] Bishop J.L. et al.(2007) Clays Clay Minerals, 55, 1-17. [3] Schiffman P. et al. (2006) Geology, 34, 921-924. [4] Bishop J.L. et al. (2016) Clay Minerals Society 53rd Annual Meeting. [5] Flahaut J. et al. (2016) Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. XLVII, Abstract #2233. [6] Bishop J.L. et al. (2004) Icarus, 169, 331-323. [7] Bishop J.L. & Murad E. (2002) In: Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth and Mars (Geological Society, London), 357-370. [8] Bishop J.L. et al. (2003) IJA, 2, 273-287. [9] Englert P. et al. (2013) LPSC, #1804. [10] Bishop et al. (2014) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. 372, 20140198.