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Science 4 May 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5825, pp. 738 - 742
DOI: 10.1126/science.1139045
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Reports

Pyroclastic Activity at Home Plate in Gusev Crater, Mars

S. W. Squyres,1 O. Aharonson,2 B.C. Clark,3 B. A. Cohen,4 L. Crumpler,5 P. A. de Souza,6 W. H. Farrand,7 R. Gellert,8 J. Grant,9 J. P. Grotzinger,2 A. F. C. Haldemann,10 J. R. Johnson,11 G. Klingelhöfer,12 K. W. Lewis,2 R. Li,13 T. McCoy,14 A. S. McEwen,15 H. Y. McSween,16 D. W. Ming,17 J. M. Moore,18 R. V. Morris,17 T. J. Parker,10 J. W. Rice, Jr.,19 S. Ruff,19 M. Schmidt,14 C. Schröder,12 L. A. Soderblom,11 A. Yen10

Home Plate is a layered plateau in Gusev crater on Mars. It is composed of clastic rocks of moderately altered alkali basalt composition, enriched in some highly volatile elements. A coarsegrained lower unit lies under a finer-grained upper unit. Textural observations indicate that the lower strata were emplaced in an explosive event, and geochemical considerations favor an explosive volcanic origin over an impact origin. The lower unit likely represents accumulation of pyroclastic materials, whereas the upper unit may represent eolian reworking of the same pyroclastic materials.

1 Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
2 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
3 Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, CO 80127, USA.
4 Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
5 New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA.
6 Vallourec Research Center, F-59260 Aulnoye-Aymeries, France.
7 Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
8 Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
9 Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
10 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
11 United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
12 Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
13 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
14 Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
15 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721, USA.
16 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
17 Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
18 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
19 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Sulfate-Rich Eolian and Wet Interdune Deposits, Erebus Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars.
J. M. Metz, J. P. Grotzinger, D. M. Rubin, K. W. Lewis, S. W. Squyres, and J. F. Bell III (2009)
Journal of Sedimentary Research 79, 247-264
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Detection of Silica-Rich Deposits on Mars.
S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, S. Ruff, R. Gellert, R. V. Morris, D. W. Ming, L. Crumpler, J. D. Farmer, D. J. D. Marais, A. Yen, et al. (2008)
Science 320, 1063-1067
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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