CaltechAUTHORS
Published April 2025 | Published
Journal Article Open

Diagenetic Features Reveal the Influence of the Greenheugh Pediment on the Alteration History of Gale Crater, Mars

Ando, Jordan1
Sheppard, Rachel Y.2, 3 ORCID icon
Bryk, Alexander B.4 ORCID icon
Sun, Vivian5 ORCID icon
Seeger, Christina H.6 ORCID icon
Fraeman, Abigail A.5 ORCID icon
Eng, Alivia M.7 ORCID icon
Kah, Linda8 ORCID icon
Rudolph, Amanda N.9 ORCID icon
  • 1. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 2. ROR icon Planetary Science Institute
  • 3. ROR icon Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
  • 4. ROR icon University of California, Berkeley
  • 5. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 6. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 7. ROR icon Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 8. ROR icon University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • 9. ROR icon National Air and Space Museum

Abstract

We investigate the nature of diagenetic features encountered by the Curiosity rover within Mount Sharp from sols 1900–3,049. Using Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager and Mast Camera (Mastcam), we classify diagenetic features into established morphological categories and assess their spatial distribution, density, and size. Our analysis reveals variations in diagenetic feature density and morphology linked to stratigraphic boundaries and proximity to the Greenheugh Pediment unconformity, highlighting the role of diagenetic fluids in shaping these features. We find a reduction in diagenetic features at the Jura to Knockfarril Hill member boundary, a spike in feature abundance at the Knockfarril Hill to Glasgow member boundary, and a strong statistical relationship between feature abundance and vertical distance from the Greenheugh Pediment. These trends point to a dynamic history of diagenetic fluid flow, influenced by variations in porosity, permeability, and structural controls, including the presence of the Pediment.

Copyright and License

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the entire Mars Science Laboratory team for collecting the data presented here and providing fruitful discussions. We would like to acknowledge funding from the Mars Science Laboratory Participating Scientist Program (80NSSC23K0189). A portion of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). Mastcam mosaics were processed by the Mastcam team at Malin Space Science Systems.

Data Availability

Mastcam and MAHLI images used in this work are freely available from the PDS Geosciences Node: https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/index.htm, and the Planetary Data System Imaging Sciences node: https://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/volumes/msl.html. Analyst's Notebook can be found on the PDS at doi:10.17189/1520328.

Supplemental Material

Supporting information - S1: 2024JE008891-sup-0001-Supporting Information SI-S01.docx

Files

JGR Planets - 2025 - Ando - Diagenetic Features Reveal the Influence of the Greenheugh Pediment on the Alteration History.pdf

Additional details

Related works Funding Dates Caltech Custom Metadata
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April 30, 2025
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April 30, 2025