@article{8a4682bd202043a78f2e38455808199c,
title = "Clay mineral diversity and abundance in sedimentary rocks of Gale crater, Mars",
abstract = "Clay minerals provide indicators of the evolution of aqueous conditions and possible habitats for life on ancient Mars. Analyses by the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity show that ~3.5–billion year (Ga) fluvio-lacustrine mudstones in Gale crater contain up to ~28 weight % (wt %) clay minerals. We demonstrate that the species of clay minerals deduced from x-ray diffraction and evolved gas analysis show a strong paleoenvironmental dependency. While perennial lake mudstones are characterized by Fe-saponite, we find that stratigraphic intervals associated with episodic lake drying contain Al-rich, Fe3+-bearing dioctahedral smectite, with minor (3 wt %) quantities of ferripyrophyllite, interpreted as wind-blown detritus, found in candidate aeolian deposits. Our results suggest that dioctahedral smectite formed via near-surface chemical weathering driven by fluctuations in lake level and atmospheric infiltration, a process leading to the redistribution of nutrients and potentially influencing the cycling of gases that help regulate climate.",
author = "Bristow, {Thomas F.} and Rampe, {Elizabeth B.} and Achilles, {Cherie N.} and Blake, {David F.} and Chipera, {Steve J.} and Patricia Craig and Crisp, {Joy A.} and {Des Marais}, {David J.} and Downs, {Robert T.} and Ralf Gellert and Grotzinger, {John P.} and Sanjeev Gupta and Hazen, {Robert M.} and Briony Horgan and Hogancamp, {Joanna V.} and Nicolas Mangold and Mahaffy, {Paul R.} and McAdam, {Amy C.} and Ming, {Doug W.} and Morookian, {John Michael} and Morris, {Richard V.} and Morrison, {Shaunna M.} and Treiman, {Allan H.} and Vaniman, {David T.} and Vasavada, {Ashwin R.} and Yen, {Albert S.}",
note = "Funding Information: We are grateful to R. Kleeberg who helped develop the CheMin instrument profile model for BGMN and A. Derkowski for informative discussion. S. Hillier and J. Michalski are thanked for constructive reviews. We acknowledge the support of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineering and management teams, and MSL science team members who participated in tactical and strategic operations, without whom the data presented here could not have been collected. Some of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. S.G. acknowledges funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) (grants ST/J005169/ 1 and ST/N000579/1). N.M. is funded by the Centre National d{\textquoteright}Etudes Spatial (CNES). A.C.M. and B.H. thank NASA{\textquoteright}s MSL Participating Scientist program for supporting this effort Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2018 The Authors.",
year = "2018",
month = jun,
day = "6",
doi = "10.1126/sciadv.aar3330",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "4",
journal = "Science advances",
issn = "2375-2548",
publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",
number = "6",
}