A Rock Record of Complex Aeolian Bedforms in a Hesperian Desert Landscape: the Stimson formation as exposed in the Murray buttes, Gale crater, Mars

Journal of Geophysical Research Planets ◽

10.1029/2020je006554 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Steven G. Banham ◽

Sanjeev Gupta ◽

David M. Rubin ◽

Kenneth S. Edgett ◽

Robert Barnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gale Crater ◽

Rock Record ◽

Desert Landscape

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Brine-driven destruction of clay minerals in Gale crater, Mars

Science ◽

10.1126/science.abg5449 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 373 (6551) ◽

pp. 198-204

Author(s):

T. F. Bristow ◽

J. P. Grotzinger ◽

E. B. Rampe ◽

J. Cuadros ◽

S. J. Chipera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnesium Sulfate ◽

Clay Minerals ◽

Sedimentary Rock ◽

Sedimentary Rocks ◽

Silicate Minerals ◽

Gale Crater ◽

Rock Record ◽

Spatial Differences ◽

Rock Strata ◽

Globally Distributed

Mars’ sedimentary rock record preserves information on geological (and potential astrobiological) processes that occurred on the planet billions of years ago. The Curiosity rover is exploring the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, in Gale crater on Mars. A traverse from Vera Rubin ridge to Glen Torridon has allowed Curiosity to examine a lateral transect of rock strata laid down in a martian lake ~3.5 billion years ago. We report spatial differences in the mineralogy of time-equivalent sedimentary rocks <400 meters apart. These differences indicate localized infiltration of silica-poor brines, generated during deposition of overlying magnesium sulfate–bearing strata. We propose that destabilization of silicate minerals driven by silica-poor brines (rarely observed on Earth) was widespread on ancient Mars, because sulfate deposits are globally distributed.

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A ROCK RECORD OF COMPLEX AEOLIAN BEDFORMS IN A HESPERIAN DESERT LANDSCAPE:THE STIMSON FORMATION AS EXPOSED IN THE MURRAY BUTTES, GALE CRATER, MARS

10.1130/abs/2020am-357141 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Steven G. Banham ◽

◽

Sanjeev Gupta ◽

David M. Rubin ◽

Kenneth S. Edgett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gale Crater ◽

Rock Record

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Gale Crater on target to become next Mars landing site

Nature ◽

10.1038/news.2011.380 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Eric Hand

Keyword(s):

Landing Site ◽

Gale Crater

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For the Rock Record

10.1525/9780520943711 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Rock Record

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Scaling the Necropolitical Anthropocene

Departures in Critical Qualitative Research ◽

10.1525/dcqr.2020.9.4.77 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 77-91

Author(s):

Tyler S. Rife

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Theoretical Concepts ◽

Ecological Concept ◽

Space And Time ◽

Desert Landscape ◽

Ecological Potential

In this essay, I demonstrate how the ecological concept of “scaling” carries potential to animate critical logics in the Anthropocene. I argue that scaling can expose unexpected linkages across space and time that help to denaturalize particular ecological formations as entangled, rather than separate. I demonstrate the critical ecological potential of scaling by performing it rhizomatically, weaving across scales of space and time while juxtaposing theoretical concepts with my experiences of life as a resident in the urban desert landscape of Phoenix, AZ. This ecology ultimately reveals how climate change acts as a complex necropolitic of the Anthropocene.

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