thermal convection in a volumetrically heated infinite prandtl number fluid with strongly temperature dependent viscosity implications for planetary thermal evolution parameterized models of the thermal evolution of planets are usually based on the assumption that the lithosphere convecting mantle boundary can be defined by an isotherm at a temperature below which viscosity is infinite on geologic timescales recent experimental results argue against this assumption we have investigated both the definition of the lithosphere convecting mantle boundary and the power law relation describing convecting heat transfer based on numerical experiments of thermal convection in a volumetrically heated fluid with temperature dependent viscosity other recent studies have treated only the heating from below but volumetric heating is likely to be the dominant mode of heating in planetary mantles either as a consequence of radioactive heating or as a proxy for secular cooling convection can occur either in the whole box or be located under a stagnant lid in the lid regime convection is driven by a temperature contrast depending on the rheology of the fluid and the interior temperature this result in agreement with experimental studies indicates that boundary between the stagnant lid and the convecting layer similar to the lithosphere convecting mantle boundary cannot be defined as a fixed isotherm during thermal evolution of planets the viscosity contrast in the convecting mantle remains constant not the temperature at the bottom of the lithosphere we present an example showing that the evolution of planets is strongly dependent on the criterion chosen to define the lithosphere convecting mantle boundary for reasonable values of the activation energy for thermally activated creep the temperature defining the lithosphere convecting mantle boundary the mantle temperature and the thickness of the lithosphere could be larger than expected from previous models which treat the base of the lithosphere as a fixed isotherm

chassigny petrogenesis melt compositions intensive parameters and water contents of martian magmas abstract the snc meteorites are a class of eight basaltic achondrites that have extremely young crystallization ages 1 3 ga chassigny a unique snc meteorite is a dunite containing fo68 olivines and rare poikilitic ca pyroxenes it is one of the most primitive snc meteorites and thus is most likely to reveal information about the snc basalt source region this study presents a detailed examination of partially crystallized melt inclusions in cumulus olivine grains in chassigny these trapped melts are argued to be representative samples of the melt that existed when chassigny crystallized this melt has been modified however by interaction with the host olivine and by closed system crystallization the phases inside the melt inclusions include hydrous ti rich amphibole kaersutite biotite two pyroxenes and rhyolitic and alkali feldspar glasses all phases have been extensively analyzed with an electron microprobe the new mineralogical information is combined with a complementary experimental study of kaersutite melt equilibria this combined data set can be used to formulate a system of linear equations which can then be solved to determine the composition of the originally trapped melt this calculation reveals that the trapped melt was an feo rich and al2o3 poor basalt the melt composition is shown to be consistent with the crystallization sequence both inside the melt inclusions and in the rock matrix the major element chemistry of this liquid closely resembles terrestrial boninite lavas the new data also allow the intensive conditions temperature total pressure and water fugacity of chassigny crystallization to be estimated two pyroxene geothermometry indicates that equilibration temperatures were 1000 50 c although amphibole does not coexist with melt until t 960 c the trapped liquid initially contained 1 5 wt dissolved water crystallization of anhydrous phases caused water to buildup in the trapped melt prior to kaersutite crystallization the melt must have contained at least 4 wt dissolved water suggesting that a minimum of 1 5 kbar total pressure is required a maximum total pressure cannot be inferred but all available data are consistent with low pressure 5 kbar crystallization finally x h2o in the fluid in the melt inclusion is estimated to have been at least 0 8 in order to stabilize amphibole without plagioclase implying that the water fugacity was 1480 bars the existence of hydrous melts and conditions appropriate for amphibole crystallization suggest that evolved sio2 rich lavas exist on the chassigny parent body mars

the chemical composition of martian soil and rocks returned by the mobile alpha proton x ray spectrometer preliminary results from the x ray mode the alpha proton x ray spectrometer apxs on board the rover of the mars pathfinder mission measured the chemical composition of six soils and five rocks at the ares vallis landing site the soil analyses show similarity to those determined by the viking missions the analyzed rocks were partially covered by dust but otherwise compositionally similar to each other they are unexpectedly high in silica and potassium but low in magnesium compared to martian soils and martian meteorites the analyzed rocks are similar in composition to terrestrial andesites and close to the mean composition of earth s crust addition of a mafic component and reaction products of volcanic gases to the local rock material is necessary to explain the soil composition

the composition and thickness of the crust of mars estimated from rare earth elements and neodymium isotopic compositions of martian meteorites isotopic and trace element compositions of martian meteorites show that early differentiation of mars produced complementary crustal and mantle reservoirs that were sampled by later magmatic events this paper describes a mass balance model that estimates the rare earth element ree content and thickness of the crust of mars from the compositions of shergottites the diverse ree and nd isotopic compositions of shergottites are most easily explained by variable addition of light rare earth element lree enriched crust to basaltic magmas derived from lree depleted mantle source regions antarctic shergottites eet 79001 alh 77005 lew 88516 and que 94201 all have strongly lree depleted patterns and positive initial 143nd isotopic compositions which is consistent with the generation of these magmas from depleted mantle sources and little or no interaction with enriched crust in contrast shergotty and zagami have negative initial 143nd isotopic compositions and less pronounced depletions of the lree which have been explained by incorporation of enriched crustal components into mantle derived magmas jones 1989 longhi 1991 borg et al 1997 the mass balance model presented here derives the ree composition of the crustal component in shergotty by assuming it represents a mixture between a mantle derived magma similar in composition to eet 79001a and a lree enriched crustal component the amount of crust in shergotty is constrained by mixing relations based on nd isotopic compositions which allows the ree pattern of the crustal component to be calculated by mass balance the effectiveness of this model is demonstrated by the successful recovery of important characteristics of the earth s continental crust from terrestrial columbia river basalts self consistent results for nd isotopic compositions and ree abundances are obtained if shergotty contains 10 30 of lree enriched crust with 10 ppm nd this crustal component would have moderately enriched lree sm nd 0 25 0 27 147sm 144nd 0 15 0 17 la yb 2 7 3 8 relatively unfractionated heavy rare earth elements hree and no eu anomaly crust with these characteristics can be produced from a primitive lherzolitic martian mantle by modest amounts 2 8 of partial melting and it would have a globally averaged thickness of 45 km which is consistent with geophysical estimates mars may serve as a laboratory to investigate planetary differentiation by extraction of a primary basaltic crust

coastal geomorphology of the martian northern plains the paper considers the question of the formation of the outflow channels and valley networks discovered on the martian northern plains during the mariner 9 mission parker and saunders 1987 and parker et al 1987 1989 data are used to describe key features common both in the lower reaches of the outflow channels and within and along the margins of the entire northern plains it is suggested that of the geological processes capable of producing similar morphologies on earth lacustrine or marine deposition and subsequent periglacial modification offer the simplest and most consistent explanation for the suit of features found on mars

a 4 gyr shock age for a martian meteorite and implications for the cratering history of mars analyses of meteorites that originated on mars provide important insights into the geological and atmospheric evolution of the planet such analyses have hitherto been restricted to relatively young martian rocks1 the oldest martian meteorites have an age of approximately 1 3 billion years but the recently recognized2 martian meteorite allan hills 84001 which is distinct from the other martian meteorites2 4 shows evidence for a much older age5 6 here we report an analysis of the shock alteration history of this meteorite based on argon isotope dating from which we derive a shock age of 4 0 0 1 billion years the age and geological history of this meteorite suggest that it came from the heavily cratered noachian age terrains of mars s southern hemisphere and it may thus provide an absolute chronology for this region of the planet independent of that inferred from the cratering record the shock age of the meteorite also coincides with that of the so called lunar cataclysm a relatively short period during which many of the craters on the moon are believed to have formed supporting the idea7 that intense bombardment was widespread throughout the inner solar system between 3 9 and 4 1 billion years ago

sequence rheological properties and effusion rates of volcanic flows at alba patera mars volcanic flows with very large areas characterize the martian volcano alba patera photogeologic analysis indicates a change of eruptive style with time from early flood lavas to relatively short narrow leveed summit flows during the dying phase of activity estimates of mass effusion rate and rheological properties derived from dimensional parameters confirm the view that the magmas involved were mafic and indicate extremely high effusion rates 5 1610 103m3 sec 1 for the earlier flows the data substantiates the view that during the active life of alba volcano mass eruption rates in the tharsis region of mars were significantly higher than in most analogous terrestrial provinces but probably not as high as those for lunar mare basalts

interior structure and seasonal mass redistribution of mars from radio tracking of mars pathfinder doppler and range measurements to the mars pathfinder lander made using its radio communications system have been combined with similar measurements from the viking landers to estimate improved values of the precession of mars pole of rotation and the variation in mars rotation rate the observed precession of 7576 35 milliarc seconds of angle per year implies a dense core and constrains possible models of interior composition the estimated annual variation in rotation is in good agreement with a model of seasonal mass exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and ice caps

the rocks of mars from far and near award of the meteoritical society 2001 h y mcsween jr the leonard medal address the rocks of mars from far and near

seeing through the dust martian crustal heterogeneity and links to the snc meteorites through the application of new analytical techniques to high spatial resolution imaging spectrometer data the ferrous mineralogy of major volcanic terrains on mars is shown to consist of significant fractions of both low and high calcium pyroxene changes in the relative abundances of these pyroxenes are observed for units of different age and morphology even in regions with higher degrees of alteration and contamination from dust volcanic rocks with these characteristics are uncommon on earth but are typical of the basaltic snc meteorites shergottites nakhlites and chassignites thought to be from mars thus it is possible to infer even through the veil of dust that the snc meteorites have mineralogic affinities to major volcanic provinces on mars and are therefore truly representative of the heterogeneity observed on the surface of the red planet

oxygen isotopic record of silicate alteration in the shergotty nakhla chassigny meteorite lafayette samples from a suite of shergotty nakhla chassigny snc meteorites were analyzed for their o isotopic ratios by a modified version of the laser fluorination technique measured isotopic ratios 17o 16o and 18o 16o from bulk samples of the shergottites eeta79001 shergotty and zagami the nakhlite lafayette and chassigny are similar to those reported in the literature as are those from olivine and pyroxene mineral separates from lafayette iddingsite a preterrestrial alteration product of lafayette was measured for the first time as a separate phase oxygen isotopic ratios increase with the percentage of iddingsite in a sample to a maximum 18o of 14 4 for a 90 separate based on these measurements end member iddingsite has a 18o of 15 6 which places it among other 18o enriched secondary phases carbonate and silica observed in snc meteorites the relatively large difference in 18o between iddingsite and the olivine and pyroxene it replaces 11 is typical of low temperature alteration products a range of crustal fluid 18o values can be interpreted from the 18o for end member iddingsite assuming isotopic equilibrium was achieved during low temperature hydrous alteration 100 c treiman et al 1993 the calculated range of values 15 to 5 depends on many factors including 1 the modal mineralogy of iddingsite 2 potential isotopic exchange among other o bearing phases such as host silicate and carbonate and 3 exchange with evolved or exotic o reservoirs on mars despite the lack of constraints the calculated range is consistent with isotopic exchange and possibly equilibria among components of the co2 carbonate iddingsite h2o system at low temperature the snc meteorite samples in this study have 17o values that are indistinguishable from bulk mars 0 30 except for a single small sample of iddingsite that has an anomalous 17o of 1 4 while analytical difficulties make isotopic measurements for this sample problematic the 17o is similar in direction to 17o reported for waters extracted from bulk samples of lafayette karlsson et al 1992 if the 17o for iddingsite is confirmed it can be concluded that evolved or exotic fluids on mars have contributed volatiles to the o reservoir from which iddingsite formed 130 to 700 ma ago

modified sulfur isotopic compositions of sulfides in the nakhlites and chassigny variable sulfur isotopic ratios of sulfide minerals in the nakhlites and chassigny have been measured by ion microprobe the ranges and means of 34s values of pyrrhotite and pyrite in nakhlites become more negative in the sequence nakhla 34s 1 7 to 4 9 mean 34s 1 5 2 0 governador valadares 34s 2 4 to 3 8 mean 34s 0 7 2 4 lafayette 6 1 to 0 1 mean 34s 3 2 2 1 this is also the sequence of increasing degrees of subsolidus re equilibration suggesting that 32s enrichment may be related to the subsolidus thermal history a chalcopyrite vein cross cutting a pyrrhotite in nakhla coupled with chalcopyrite having slightly lighter 34s values suggests that subsolidus fluids may have become isotopically lighter with respect to sulfur in nakhla with time pyrite has replaced pyrrhotite in lafayette suggesting that fo2 and or fs2 increased after pyrrhotite crystallization a model involving subsolidus hydrothermal modification of igneous sulfide minerals with 34s 0 due to late stage oxidation of fluids provides a reasonable explanation for the sulfur isotopic systematics of the nakhlites and chassigny sulfur isotopic alteration is believed to have occurred during the waning stages of nakhlite magmatism rather than during a much later low temperature 100 c iddingsite formation event based on the ineffectiveness of abiogenic sulfur isotopic fractionation below 200 c variable mixing of two isotopically different fluids also could have produced the observed fractionations although an isotopically light reservoir of sulfur is problematic other possible mechanisms evaluated to explain the sulfur isotopic values of the sulfide minerals include martian mantle heterogeneity possible influence of martian biological processes and magmatic degassing of so2

convective contribution to the genesis of hurricane ophelia 2005 abstract the convection occurring in the tropical depression that became hurricane ophelia 2005 was investigated just prior to tropical storm formation doppler radar showed a deep wide intense convective cell of a type that has been previously thought to occur in intensifying tropical depressions but has not heretofore been documented in detail the updraft of the cell was 10 km wide 17 km deep had updrafts of 10 20 m s 1 throughout its mid to upper levels and contained a cyclonic vorticity maximum the massive convective updraft was maintained by strong positive buoyancy which was maximum at about the 10 km level probably aided by latent heat of freezing evaporative cooling and precipitation drag occurred in the rain shower of the cell but were insufficient to produce a strong downdraft or gust front outflow to force the updraft the convective updraft was fed by a layer of strong inflow that was several kilometers deep wind induced turbulence just above the ocean surface enriched the equi

isotopic composition of trapped and cosmogenic noble gases in several martian meteorites isotopic abundances of the noble gases were measured in the following martian meteorites two shock glass inclusions from elephant moraine eet 79001 shock vein glass from shergotty and yamato y 793605 and whole rock samples of allan hills alh 84001 and queen alexandra range que 94201 these glass samples when combined with literature data on a separate single glass inclusion from eet 79001 and a glass vein from zagami permit examination in greater detail of the isotopic composition of ne ar kr and xe trapped from the martian atmosphere the isotopic composition of martian ne if actually present in these glasses remains poorly defined the 40ar 36ar ratio of trapped martian atmospheric ar is probably considerably lower than the nominal ratio of 3000 measured by viking and data on impact glasses suggest a value of 1900 the atmospheric 36ar 38ar ratio is 4 0 martian atmospheric kr may be enriched in lighter isotopes by 0 5 amu compared to both solar wind kr and to the martian composition previously reported the isotopic composition of xe in these glasses agrees with that previously reported in the literature the martian atmospheric 36ar 132xe and 84kr 132xe elemental ratios are higher than those reported by viking by factors of 2 5 1 6 depending on the 40ar 36ar ratio adopted and 1 8 respectively and are discussed in a separate paper cosmogenic gases indicate space exposure ages of 2 7 0 6 ma for que 94201 and shergotty and 14 1 ma for alh 84001 small amounts of 21ne produced by energetic solar protons may be present in que 94201 but are not present in alh 84001 or y 793605 the space exposure age for y 793605 is 4 9 0 6 ma and appears to be distinctly older than the ages for basaltic shergottites however uncertainties in cosmogenic production rates still makes somewhat uncertain the number of martian impact events required to produce the exposure ages of martian meteorites

water in snc meteorites evidence for a martian hydrosphere the shergotty nakhla chassigny snc meteorites purportedly of martian origin contain 0 04 to 0 4 percent water by weight oxygen isotopic analysis can be used to determine whether this water is extraterrestrial or terrestrial such analysis reveals that a portion of the water is extraterrestrial and furthermore was not in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with the host rock lack of equilibrium between water and host rock implies that the lithosphere and hydrosphere of the snc parent body formed two distinct oxygen isotopic reservoirs if mars was the parent body the maintenance of two distinct reservoirs may result from the absence of plate tectonics on the planet

subtraction of the telluric inductive component from van measurements abstract in order to understand the role of electrical properties in the vicinity of van stations that have already been found to be appropriate for the collection of seismic electric signals ses a magnetotelluric mt investigation was carried out over of the entire van network we present preliminary mt results for two stations of the van telemetric network in continental greece a procedure was developed by which a real time subtraction of the telluric inductive component from the electric measurements can be made the resulting real time recording of the residual electric field allows a better identification of the ses such an example is presented for an ses that preceded a 5 5 magnitude earthquake in western greece

in situ compositions of martian volcanics implications for the mantle the primary objective of this analysis is to determine the mineralogic composition of relatively pristine terrains exposed on the surface of mars this analysis is conducted using imaging spectrometer data acquired in 1989 by the imaging spectrometer for mars ism instrument that was onboard the phobos ii spacecraft the ism instrument acquired some of the highest spectral 64 channels between 0 77 and 3 14 m and spatial resolution 22 km pixel observations to date of mars focused on the equatorial region relatively unaltered surfaces were identified in these data on the basis of their spectral properties low albedo weak spectral slope absence of ferric absorptions and were found in volcanic terrains of syrtis major valles marineris ophir planum and sinus meridiani oxia palus spectra representative of the diversity among terrains were extracted for detailed analysis using the modified gaussian model to determine the primary mafic mineralogy it was determined that the mafic mineralogy of the regions investigated is dominated by low calcium and high calcium pyroxene lcp hcp and that there was homogeneity within a given region but some heterogeneity between regions in the relative abundance of lcp to hcp the two pyroxene mineralogy is consistent with the mineralogies of the basaltic snc meteorites believed to have originated on mars two pyroxene volcanic mineralogies are indicative of large degrees of partial melting e g komatiites or a mantle source depleted in aluminum integration of these findings with previous studies of mars and the snc meteorites indicates that 1 the snc mineralogies are representative of large volcanic regions of mars with surface ages as old as 2 3 ga 2 the martian mantle was depleted in aluminum at least as long ago as the oldest terrain analyzed ophir planum and 3 there has been little evolution in the composition of mantle source regions as the 180 ma snc mineralogies are comparable to those of the oldest terrains analyzed

calcium carbonate and sulfate of possible extraterrestrial origin in the eeta 79001 meteorite abstract two varieties of ca carbonate were found in a total of three interior 2 cm depth samples of glass inclusions from the shergottite meteorite elephant moraine antarctica a79001 two of the samples including the largest deposit around a vug near the center of the meteorite 8 cm depth contained veins of granular calcite with significant magnesium avg atomic mg mg ca 0 14 0 15 and phosphorus avg atomic p ca 0 04 either as mg calcite with dissolved p or as calcite with very finely intergrown mg bearing phosphate the second variety which occurred in a third sample with a previously documented high concentration of trapped gases consisted of disseminated 10 20 m anhedral grains of nearly pure caco3 and was intimately associated with laths and needles of ca sulfate possibly gypsum the coexisting carbonate and sulfate appeared to be partially decrepitated relict grains that were trapped during rapid solidification of quench textured pyroxene and glass for at least the latter occurrence textural relationships clearly indicate a pre terrestrial origin for the salts all evidence considered it is probable that both varieties of cacarbonate and the ca sulfate formed on a planetary body probably mars before the meteorite fell on earth

extensive hesperian aged south polar ice sheet on mars evidence for massive melting and retreat and lateral flow and ponding of meltwater local and regional mars orbiter laser altimeter mola topographic data support the presence of an extensive hesperian aged volatile rich south polar deposit the dorsa argentea formation hd and related units underlying the present amazonian aged polar cap api residual ice and apl layered terrain and covering a surface area that could be as large as 2 94 106 km2 about 2 of the surface of mars over twice the area of the present amazonian aged south polar deposits the deposit characteristics indicate that it contained significant quantities of water ice in amounts comparable to present day polar deposits several lines of evidence for melting indicate that the ice sheet deposits underwent melt back and liquid water drainage into surrounding lows including a large valley near the crater schmidt and the argyre basin narrow sinuous ridges lie in a broad linear depression extending from a high near the present polar cap continuously downslope to near the distal portion of hd the new topographic data support the interpretation of these ridges as eskers representing meltwater distribution networks at the base of the receding deposit extensive development of large pits and depressions cavi have previously been interpreted as eolian etching or basal melting of ice rich deposits analysis of mola topography supports the interpretation that they represent basal melting of ice rich deposits and shows that they have links to the esker systems volumetric considerations and topographic lineations suggest that some of the basal melting occurred beneath regions presently occupied by apl and that some of the liquid water formed ponds and lakes in the distal parts of hd the presence of pedestal craters is further evidence of the removal of extensive volatile rich deposits and contributes to the quantitative measure of the former deposit thickness where did the melt products go inspection of the margins of the dorsa argentea formation reveals several large channels that begin there and drain downslope for distances between 900 and 1600 km onto the floor of the argyre basin some 3 5 4 0 km below their origin these channels do not exhibit tributaries their broad lateral distribution supports other evidence that deposit melting was areally very widespread and volumetrically significant and that a large part of the meltwater entered the surface distribution system and was deposited on the floor of the argyre basin over 1000 km away estimates of the present deposit thicknesses together with amounts of the deposit removed by meltback suggest that the original volume could have been as much as 5 9 106 km3 equivalent to a global layer of water 20 m deep if the deposit consisted of 50 volatiles a portion of these volatiles migrated across the surface to pond in adjacent valleys and basins and into the groundwater system a significant portion of the volatiles remain in the deposit representing a net removal from the atmosphere and from the active hydrologic system in early to middle mars history and forming an accessible record of aqueous conditions and possible biological environments dating from that time

modeling the volcanism on mars the total amount of melt produced in mars during its evolution is estimated by means of a parameterized one dimensional analytic mantle convection model that assumes a stagnant lid and whole mantle convection the fertility of the mantle defined as the potential to create basalt and its variation with time are taken into account the model is composed of core mantle and lithosphere with two boundary layers separating them the contributions to volcanism by pressure release melting prm and by plumes from the core mantle boundary layer are compared and discussed we show that such models tend to produce considerable melting during the early evolution of the planet and that the amount of melting depends strongly on the abundances of radioactive elements although the model s assumptions may not be valid for the early evolution of the planet the model is relevant to the later history which is insensitive to initial conditions we find that prm volcanism should have ceased between 1 and 2 5 byr ago and any recent volcanic activity must have originated in plumes

origin of planetary cores evidence from highly siderophile elements in martian meteorites we present new bulk compositional data for 6 martian meteorites including highly siderophile elements ni re os ir and au these and literature data are utilized for comparison versus the siderophile systematics of igneous rocks from earth the moon and the hed asteroid the siderophile composition of alh84001 is clearly anomalous whether this reflects a more reducing environment on primordial mars when this ancient rock first crystallized or secondary alteration is unclear que94201 shows remarkable similarity with eet79001 b for siderophile as well as lithophile elements both are extraordinarily depleted in the noblest siderophiles os and ir to roughly 0 00001 ci chondrites as in terrestrial igneous rocks among martian rocks ni os and ir show strong correlations vs mgo in the case of mgo vs ni the martian trend is displaced toward lower ni by a large factor 5 but the os and ir trends are not significantly displaced from their terrestrial counterparts for mars re shows a rough correlation with mgo indicating compatible behavior in contrast to its mildly incompatible behavior on earth among martian mgo rich rocks au shows a weak anticorrelation vs mgo resembling the terrestrial distribution except for a displacement toward 2 3 times lower au the same elements ni re os ir and au show similar correlations with cr substituted for mgo data for lunar and hed rocks generally show less clear cut trends relatively few mgo rich samples are available these trends are exploited to infer the compositions of the primitive earth mars moon and hed mantles by assuming that the trend intercepts the bulk mgo or cr content of the primitive mantle at the approximate primitive mantle concentration of the siderophile element results for earth show good agreement with earlier estimates for mars the implied primitive mantle composition is remarkably similar to the earth s except for 5 times lower ni the best constrained of the extremely siderophile elements os and ir are present in the martian mantle at 0 005 times ci in comparison to 0 007 times ci in earth s mantle this similarity constitutes a key constraint on the style of core mantle differentiation in both mars and earth successful models should predict similarly high concentrations of noble siderophile elements in both the martian and terrestrial mantles high compared to the lunar and hed mantles and to models of simple partitioning at typical low pressure magmatic temperatures but only predict high ni for the earth s mantle models that engender the noble siderophile excess in earth s mantle through a uniquely terrestrial process such as a moon forming giant impact have difficulty explaining the similarity of outcome except for ni on mars the high ni content of the terrestrial mantle is probably an effect traceable to earth s size for the more highly siderophile elements like os and ir the simplest model consistent with available constraints is the veneer hypothesis core mantle differentiation was notably inefficient on the largest terrestrial planets because during the final 1 of accretion these bodies acquired sufficient h2o to oxidize most of the later accreting fe metal thus eliminating the carrier phase for segregation of siderophile elements into the core

determination of martian meteorite lithologies and mineralogies using vibrational spectroscopy we have acquired thermal infrared emission spectra of four martian meteorite samples alh77005 nakhla zagami and eet79001 representing three major lithologies iherzolite clinopyroxenite and basalt the spectra of these meteorites are significantly different from each other and we can distinguish the three lithologies easily on the basis of their spectral morphologies using a linear deconvolution model the modal mineralogies of alh77005 nakhla and zagami were derived from their spectra to within 2 19 of the modes derived by optical methods for zagami and eet79001 the correct mineral types were identified as present using the linear method although an exact spectral match using available end member spectra was not obtained probably due to the lack of a pigeonite end member spectrum or shock effects in the meteorites the meteorite spectra we have acquired will be used for comparison with data to be returned by the thermal emission spectrometer tes on the mars global surveyor orbiter and would also be useful for comparing to future rover or lander based thermal ir spectra based on our results comparisons of mineral end member and meteorite spectra with tes spectra of coarse regolith and rocky regions should aid identification and mapping of martian surface lithologies and unit mineralogy

analysis of terrestrial and martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy 1 determination of mineralogy chemistry and classification strategies we have examined and applied existing classification schemes for volcanic rocks and developed new schemes using thermal emission spectra of terrestrial volcanic rocks laboratory thermal infrared spectra 5 25 m at 2 cm 1 spectral sampling deconvolved modal mineralogies and derived mineral and bulk rock chemistries were used to distinguish basalt basaltic andesite andesite and dacite modal mineralogies derived from linear deconvolution of terrestrial volcanic rocks were compared to modes measured by an electron microprobe phase mapping technique to determine the accuracy of linear deconvolution in modeling specific mineral abundances one standard deviations of the absolute differences between modeled and measured mineral abundances range from 2 4 to 12 2 vol with an average standard deviation of 4 8 vol being in agreement with average uncertainties calculated in previous studies weighted average compositions of feldspars in the deconvolution generally overlap the measured ranges of plagioclase compositions and the presence of low calcium and high calcium pyroxenes was correctly identified bulk chemistries of volcanic rocks were derived with a relatively high degree of accuracy 1 standard deviations ranging from 0 4 to 2 6 vol by combining the compositions of spectrally modeled phases in proportion to their relative abundances in a particular sample these data were collectively used to examine existing and develop new volcanic rock classification schemes however no single classification scheme was effective in accurately classifying all samples multiple steps of classification were required to distinguish volcanic rocks reflecting the mineralogic diversity and continuum of compositions that exists in volcanic rock types in a companion paper hamilton et al this issue these schemes are applied to the classification of martian surface compositions

mineralogic and compositional properties of martian soil and dust results from mars pathfinder mars pathfinder obtained multispectral elemental magnetic and physical measurements of soil and dust at the sagan memorial station during the course of its 83 sol mission we describe initial results from these measurements concentrating on multispectral and elemental data and use these data along with previous viking snc meteorite and telescopic results to help constrain the origin and evolution of martian soil and dust we find that soils and dust can be divided into at least eight distinct spectral units based on parameterization of imager for mars pathfinder imp 400 to 1000 nm multispectral images the most distinctive spectral parameters for soils and dust are the reflectivity in the red the red blue reflectivity ratio the near ir spectral slope and the strength of the 800 to 1000 nm absorption feature most of the pathfinder spectra are consistent with the presence of poorly crystalline or nanophase ferric oxide s sometimes mixed with small but varying degrees of well crystalline ferric and ferrous phases darker soil units appear to be coarser grained compacted and or mixed with a larger amount of dark ferrous materials relative to bright soils nanophase goethite akaganeite schwertmannite and maghemite are leading candidates for the origin of the absorption centered near 900 nm in imp spectra the ferrous component in the soil cannot be well constrained based on imp data alpha proton x ray spectrometer apxs measurements of six soil units show little variability within the landing site and show remarkable overall similarity to the average viking derived soil elemental composition differences exist between viking and pathfinder soils however including significantly higher s and cl abundances and lower si abundances in viking soils and the lack of a correlation between ti and fe in pathfinder soils no significant linear correlations were observed between imp spectral properties and apxs elemental chemistry attempts at constraining the mineralogy of soils and dust using normative calculations involving mixtures of smectites and silicate and oxide minerals did not yield physically acceptable solutions we attempted to use the pathfinder results to constrain a number of putative soil and dust formation scenarios including palagonitization and acid fog weathering while the pathfinder soils cannot be chemically linked to the pathfinder rocks by palagonitization this study and mcsween et al 1999 suggest that palagonitic alteration of a martian basaltic rock plus mixture with a minor component of locally derived andesitic rock fragments could be consistent with the observed soil apxs and imp properties

formation ages and evolution of shergotty and its parent planet from u th pb systematics the isotopic composition of lead was determined in different phases from shergotty zagami and eeta 79001 using phases with low 238 u 204 pb the initial leads of these meteorites could be well defined and are distinct from each other and have high 204 pb 206 pb from 0 0652 to 0 0739 these leads evolved in different reservoirs over most of solar system history in a low 238 u 204 pb 5 environment it follows that the parent planet of the shergottites has a high 204 pb concentration relative to u and must also be high in other volatiles if the parent planet of the shergottites is mars then this planet must be volatile rich compared to the earth by a factor of 1 8 this implies that mars lost its original atmosphere and that the present atmosphere was derived from a previously outgassed martian upper mantle the u th pb isotopic relationships involving phases with high 238 u 204 pb are quite regular and give ages for three shergottites which indicate an event of u th pb fractionation at 200 m y the initial leads at that time were highly evolved relative to the primordial lead the absence of substantial additions of radiogenic lead above the initial lead in high u phases precludes an older age for the u th pb fractionation however details of the data arrays are complex the young age is in general agreement with some of the ages obtained by other methods but precise concordance between the different methods is not established it is suggested that the shock event that produced maskelynite may possibly be associated with the late stage breakup at 2 5 m y and not necessarily related to the 180 m y record the major event of chronometer resetting is taken to be 180 m y this event does not appear to be an endogenic igneous event but an almost complete equilibration during a major impact on more ancient igneous rocks which were contained in the target problems of the polymetamorphic history of meteorites appear as complicated as those of polymetamorphic terrestrial terranes

snc meteorites clues to martian petrologic evolution the shergottites nakhlites and chassigny snc meteorites are apparently cumulate mafic and ultramafic rocks that crystallized at shallow levels in the crust of their parent body the mineralogy and chemistry of these meteorites are remarkably like equivalent terrestrial rocks although their ratios of fe fe mg and certain incompatible elements and their oxygen isotopic compositions are distinctive all have crystallization ages of 1 3 b y or younger and formed from magmas produced by partial melting of previously fractionated source regions isotope systematics suggest that the snc parent body had a complex and protracted thermal history spanning most of geologic time some meteorites have been severely shock metamorphosed and all were ejected from their parent body at relatively recent times possibly in several impact events late crystallization ages complex petrogenesis and possible evidence for a large gravitational field suggest that these meteorites are derived from a large planet trapped gases in shergottite shock melts have compositions similar to the composition measured in the martian atmosphere ejection of martian meteorites may have been accomplished by acceleration of near surface spalls or other mechanisms not fully understood if snc meteorites are of martian origin they provide important information on planetary composition and evolution the bulk composition and redox state of the martian mantle as constrained by shergottite phase equilibria must be more earthlike than most current models planetary thermal models should benefit from data on the abundances of radioactive heat sources the melting behavior of the mantle and the timing of planetary differentiation calculated depletion of chalcophile elements in source regions indicates a core dominated by sulfides and paleomagnetic measurements suggest the presence of a weak magnetic field within the last several hundred thousand years concentrations of volatile elements indicate that the snc parent body was not volatile depleted and trapped atmospheric components measured in shock melts may be useful in understanding planetary degassing by providing comparisons for spectral reflectance data and viking soil analyses these meteorites may also constrain surface mineralogy and weathering mechanisms