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Published March 15, 2026 | Version Supplemental material
Journal Article Open

Elevated-Mn ChemCam targets illuminating Mn redox cycling and diagenesis in the Bradbury Rise, Gale Crater, Mars

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 2. ROR icon Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • 3. ROR icon Purdue University West Lafayette
  • 4. ROR icon Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement
  • 5. ROR icon Space Science Institute
  • 6. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 7. ROR icon New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
  • 8. ROR icon Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology

Abstract

Manganese plays a crucial role as a paleo-environmental and geological indicator due to its sensitivity to redox potential and pH variations in the environment. On Earth, the association between the rise of atmospheric oxygen during the Great Oxidation Event and the presence of Mn in the sedimentary rock record underscores its significance. In this study, we reexamined ChemCam targets from the first 600 sols of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, focusing on identifying instances of above-average Mn within these targets. These elevated-Mn targets were categorized into distinct geologic classes, revealing a pattern linking heightened Mn levels with diagenetically altered materials, such as calcium-sulfate veins and concretions, as well as clay minerals within the same targets, indicating a compelling relationship between Mn enrichment and diagenetic processes. High concentrations of Mn were observed in chemically altered targets, suggesting the occurrence of multiple fluid events: the first to alter the material and the second to deposit Mn. The observed patterns suggest multiple diagenetic events and redox cycling that facilitated the deposition and transport of Mn subsequent to the initial dissolution of basaltic materials. This research sheds light on the complexity of martian diagenetic processes and their implications for the planet's environmental evolution.

Copyright and License

© 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the MSL Curiosity rover mission team, and all those who have contributed to ChemCam operations. Much of this work has been supported by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam team. The corresponding author would like to thank LANL staff scientists for their support and for arranging summer assistantship during the course of this work. The work at LANL was supported by NASA contract NNH13ZDA018O as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program MSL . The corresponding author gratefully acknowledges the Fred M. Bullard Fellowship for the first year (2021–2022 semesters) of graduate studies in the Department of Earth Sciences, SOEST, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and the NASA SuperCam Mars 2020 Graduate Research Assistantship from JPL subcontract #1654163 to Dr. Shiv Sharma at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Data Availability

The ChemCam data (Wiens, 2023a, Wiens, 2023b, Wiens, 2023c, Wiens, 2023d), MAHLI images (Edgett, 2021a, Edgett, 2021b), and Mastcam images (Malin, 2021a, Malin, 2021b) used in this study are available through the Planetary Data System (PDS)
Geoscience Node and the PDS Imaging Node. The chemistry and classification database for the ChemCam targets discussed in this paper is available online (Comellas et al., 2024). Supplementary material includes additional information about each class, ZMaps and descriptions for each major oxide pair, A-CNK-FM ternary diagrams and descriptions for each class, A-CN-K ternary diagrams and descriptions for each class, AF-CNK-M ternary diagrams and descriptions for each class, and ChemCam RMI mosaics (colorized when available) for each ChemCam target mentioned in this work.

Supplemental Material

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Additional details

Related works

Is supplemented by
Dataset: 10.5281/zenodo.12747141 (DOI)

Funding

Los Alamos National Laboratory
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NNH13ZDA018O
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
1654163

Dates

Submitted
2025-02-07
Accepted
2025-12-04
Available
2025-12-05
Available online
Available
2025-12-12
Version of record

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Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)
Publication Status
Published