Chalcophile Element Constraints on the Sulfur Content of the Martian Mantle

The sulfur content of the Martian mantle is critical to understanding volcanic volatiles supplied to the surface of Mars and possibly climate. In the absence of Martian mantle rocks, sulfur content of the mantle has been inferred from S contents of Martian meteorites or from sedimentary sulfate abundances. Estimates of the sulfur content of the Martian mantle vary from 390-2,000 ppm, all of which are higher than that of the terrestrial mantle (~250 ppm;). Residual sulfide in the Martian mantle controls the distribution of chalcophile elements during partial melting. In this study, we report new analyses of Martian meteorites, and use the incompatible behavior of As, Tl and Pb to infer the sulfide mode of the Martian mantle using a different set of assumptions than those of prior studies.