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Stable Isotope Composition of Carbonates Formed in Low-Temperature Terrestrial Environments as Martian AnalogsWe examine the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of carbonate minerals that formed in two low-temperature terrestrial environments. Field locations were chosen to represent environments where microcrystalline carbonates (caliches) form. Samples include caliche crusts collected from the tsekel zone of N. Yucatan, Mexico, as well as carbonate mud from the edge of a near-by salt pan, representing both ancient and modern-precipitated carbonates. Additional field samples of surface-coating caliche were collected from two volcanic fields in Arizona. Preliminary results indicate that there is an overall depletion of 18O and 13C as a function of the extent of meteoric diagenesis. These data are used as terrestrial analogs to gauge whether carbonates that have been found within Martian meteorites could possibly have formed under these or similar conditions on Mars.
Document ID
20040062547
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Socki, Richard A.
(Lockheed Martin Corp. Houston, TX, United States)
Gibson, Everett K., Jr.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Perry, Eugene C., Jr.
(University of Northern Illinois De Kalb, IL, United States)
Galindo, Charles
(ARES Corp. Houston, TX, United States)
Golden, D. C.
(ARES Corp. Houston, TX, United States)
Ming, Douglas W.
(Hernandez Engineering, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
McKay, Gordon A.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Weird Martian Minerals: Complex Mars Surface Processes
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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