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The temperature and composition of the mantle sources of Martian basalts
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  • Max Collinet,
  • Ana-Catalina Plesa,
  • Thomas Ruedas,
  • Sabrina Schwinger,
  • Doris Breuer
Max Collinet
German Aerospace Center

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Ana-Catalina Plesa
German Aerospace Center
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Thomas Ruedas
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
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Sabrina Schwinger
German Aerospace Center
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Doris Breuer
German Aerospace Center
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Abstract

The composition of basaltic melts in equilibrium with the mantle can be determined for several Martian meteorites and in-situ rover analyses. We use the melting model MAGMARS to reproduce these primary melts and estimate the bulk composition and temperature of the mantle regions from which they originated. We find that most mantle sources are depleted in CaO and Al2O3 relative to models of the bulk silicate Mars and likely represent melting residues or magma ocean cumulates. The concentrations of Na2O, K2O, P2O5, and TiO2 are variable and often less depleted, pointing to the re-fertilization of the sources by fluids and low-degree melts, or the incorporation of residual trapped melts during the crystallization of the magma ocean. The mantle potential temperatures of the sources are 1400-1500 ºC, regardless of the time at which they melted and within the range of the most recent predictions from thermochemical evolution models.
23 Mar 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
26 Mar 2023Published in ESS Open Archive