Characterization of aqueous alteration and formation of salty exposures at Ius Chasma, Mars

Intriguing outcrops in Ius Chasma provide a window into past aqueous processes in Valles Marineris, Mars. Hydrous sulfate minerals are abundant throughout this region, but one area in Ius Chasma includes phyllosilicates, opal, and additional materials with unusual spectral features. This study at Geryon Montes, an east-west horst that divides Ius Chasma into a northern and southern canyon, exploits recent advances in image calibration and feature extraction techniques for analysis of hyperspectral images acquired by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM). Specifically, a unique spectral “doublet” feature with absorptions at 2.21–2.23 and 2.26–2.28 μm is isolated at the border of phyllosilicate-bearing and sulfate-bearing regions in Ius Chasma and surveyed to characterize outcrops that may represent a changing climate on Mars. We document and map three distinct forms of this “doublet” material in relation to phyllosilicates and opal. Analyses of compositional maps derived from CRISM overlain on High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imagery has revealed the presence of these hydrated outcrops along the wall rocks below a breach in the Geryon Montes, bordering a canyon containing abundant hydrated sulfates. Our investigation supports formation of these unique alteration phases through acid alteration of ancient smectites in the wall rock as the sulfate brine overflowed the south canyon of Ius Chasma at the breach in Geryon Montes and penetrated the deeper northern canyon.