Images from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission of lacustrine sedimentary rocks of Vera Rubin ridge on “Mt. Sharp” in Gale crater, Mars, have shown stark color variations from red to purple to gray. These color differences cross-cut stratigraphy and are likely due to diagenetic alteration of the sediments after deposition. However, the chemistry and timing of these fluid interactions is unclear. Determining how diagenetic processes may have modified chemical and mineralogical signatures of ancient martian environments is critical for understanding the past habitability of Mars and achieving the goals of the MSL mission. Here we use visible/near-infrared spectra from Mastcam and ChemCam to determine the mineralogical origins of color variations in the ridge. Color variations are consistent with changes in spectral properties related to the crystallinity, grain size, and texture of hematite. Coarse-grained gray hematite spectrally dominates in the gray patches and is present in the purple areas, while nanophase and fine-grained red crystalline hematite are present and spectrally dominate in the red and purple areas. We hypothesize that these differences were caused by grain size coarsening of hematite by diagenetic fluids, as observed in terrestrial analogs. In this model, early primary reddening by oxidizing fluids near the surface was followed during or after burial by bleaching to form the gray patches, possibly with limited secondary reddening after exhumation. Diagenetic alteration may have diminished the preservation of biosignatures and changed the composition of the sediments, making it more difficult to interpret how conditions evolved in the paleolake over time.

Despite nearly complete coverage of the Martian surface with thermal infrared datasets, uncertainty remains over a wide range of observed thermal trends. Combinations of grain sizes, packing geometry, cementation, volatile abundances, subsurface heterogeneity, and sub-pixel horizontal mixing lead to multiple scenarios that would produce a given thermal response at the surface. Sedimentary environments on Earth provide a useful natural laboratory for studying how the interplay of these traits control diurnal temperature curves and identifying the depositional contexts those traits appear in, which can be difficult to model or simulate indoors. However, thermophysical studies at Mars-analog sites are challenged by distinct controls present on Earth, such as soil moisture and atmospheric density. In this work, as part of a broader thermophysical analog study, we developed a model for determining thermal properties of in-place sediments on Earth from thermal imagery that considers those additional controls. The model uses Monte Carlo simulations to fit calibrated surface temperatures and identify the most probable dry thermal conductivity as well as any potential subsurface layering. The program iterates through a one-dimensional surface energy balance on the upper boundary of a soil column and calculates subsurface heat transfer with temperature-dependent parameters. The greatest sources of uncertainty stem from the complexity of how thermal conductivity scales with water abundance and from surface-atmosphere heat exchange, or sensible heat. Using data from a 72-hr campaign at a basaltic eolian site in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, we tested multiple models for how dry soil components and water contribute to thermal conductivity and multiple approaches to estimating sensible heat from field measurements. Field measurements include: upwelling and downwelling radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and soil moisture, all collected from a ground station, as well as UAV-derived surface geometries. By mitigating Earth-specific uncertainty and isolating the controls that are most relevant to Martian sediments, we can then validate those controls with in situ thermophysical probe measurements and ultimately improve interpretations of thermal data for the Martian surface.

For ~ 500 sols, the Mars Science Laboratory team explored Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), a topographic feature on the northwest slope of Aeolis Mons. Here we review the sedimentary facies and stratigraphy observed during sols 1800-2300, covering more than 100 m of stratigraphic thickness. Curiosity’s traverse includes two transects across the ridge, which enables studies of lateral variability over a distance of ~ 300 m. Three informally named stratigraphic members of the Murray formation are described: Blunts Point, Pettegrove Point, and Jura, with the latter two forming the ridge. The Blunts Point member, exposed just below the ridge, is characterized by a recessive, fine-grained facies that exhibits extensive planar lamination and is crosscut by abundant curviplanar veins. The Pettegrove Point member is more resistant, fine-grained, thinly planar laminated, and contains a higher abundance of diagenetic concretions. Conformable above the Pettegrove Point member is the Jura member, which is also fine-grained and parallel stratified, but is marked by a distinct step in topography which coincides with meter-scale inclined strata, a thinly and thickly laminated facies, and occasional crystal molds. All members record low-energy lacustrine deposition, consistent with prior observations of the Murray formation. Uncommon outcrops of low-angle stratification suggest possible subaqueous currents, and steeply inclined beds may be the result of slumping. Collectively, the rocks exposed at VRR provide additional evidence for a long-lived lacustrine environment (in excess of 10^6 years via comparison to terrestrial records of sedimentation), which extends our understanding of the duration of habitable conditions in Gale crater.