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Originally published in Science Express on 17 February 2005
Science 11 March 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5715, pp. 1587 - 1591
DOI: 10.1126/science.1109087
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Reports

Sulfates in Martian Layered Terrains: The OMEGA/Mars Express View

Aline Gendrin,1* Nicolas Mangold,2 Jean-Pierre Bibring,1 Yves Langevin,1 Brigitte Gondet,1 François Poulet,1 Guillaume Bonello,1 Cathy Quantin,3 John Mustard,4 Ray Arvidson,5 Stéphane LeMouélic6

The OMEGA/Mars Express hyperspectral imager identified hydrated sulfates on light-toned layered terrains on Mars. Outcrops in Valles Marineris, Margaritifer Sinus, and Terra Meridiani show evidence for kieserite, gypsum, and polyhydrated sulfates. This identification has its basis in vibrational absorptions between 1.3 and 2.5 micrometers. These minerals constitute direct records of the past aqueous activity on Mars.

1 Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.
2 Interactions et Dynamique des Environnements de Surface (IDES), Bâtiment 509, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.
3 Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, Bâtiment géode, 69100 Villeurbanne, France.
4 Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
5 Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
6 Planétologie, Université de Nantes, 44322 Nantes, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Aline_Gendrin{at}brown.edu

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