Physical and chemical weatheringPhysical and chemical weathering processes that might be important on Mars are reviewed, and the limited observations, including relevant Viking results and laboratory simulations, are summarized. Physical weathering may have included rock splitting through growth of ice, salt or secondary silicate crystals in voids. Chemical weathering probably involved reactions of minerals with water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, although predicted products vary sensitively with the abundance and physical form postulated for the water. On the basis of kinetics data for hydration of rock glass on earth, the fate of weathering-rind formation on glass-bearing Martian volcanic rocks is tentatively estimated to have been on the order of 0.1 to 4.5 cm/Gyr; lower rates would be expected for crystalline rocks.
Document ID
19930043874
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Gooding, James L. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Arvidson, Raymond E. (Washington Univ. Saint Louis, MO, United States)