Published December 2006
| public
Journal Article
Sedimentary textures formed by aqueous processes, Erebus crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars
Abstract
New observations at Erebus crater (Olympia outcrop) by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity between sols 671 and 735 (a sol is a martian day) indicate that a diverse suite of primary and penecontemporaneous sedimentary structures is preserved in sulfate-rich bedrock. Centimeter-scale trough (festoon) cross-lamination is abundant, and is better expressed and thicker than previously described examples. Postdepositional shrinkage cracks in the same outcrop are interpreted to have formed in response to desiccation. Considered collectively, this suite of sedimentary structures provides strong support for the involvement of liquid water during accumulation of sedimentary rocks at Meridiani Planum.
Additional Information
© 2006 Geological Society of America, Inc. Accepted 3 August 2006. Received 18 May 2006. Revision received 1 August 2006. We gratefully acknowledge the entire Mars Exploration Rover (MER) science and engineering teams for making this investigation possible. We thank Mark Rosiek, Donna Galuszka, and Bonnie Redding for constructing the microscope imager digital elevation model of upper Overgaard. Dawn Sumner provided valuable discussion, and Jim Cowher helped with field work at terrestrial analog sites. We also thank Philip Allen, Mike Leeder, and an anonymous referee for helpful reviews. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded the overall MER project.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 50345
- DOI
- 10.1130/G22985A.1
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20141013-073829927
- NASA
- Created
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2014-10-13Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2022-11-30Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences