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Published Online August 2, 2007
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1144174

Reports

Submitted on April 24, 2007
Accepted on July 25, 2007

Coupled Ferric Oxides and Sulfates on the Martian Surface

J.-P. Bibring 1*, R. E. Arvidson 2, A. Gendrin 1, B. Gondet 1, Y. Langevin 1, S. Le Mouelic 3, N. Mangold 4, R. V. Morris 5, J. F. Mustard 6, F. Poulet 1, C. Quantin 4, C. Sotin 3

1 Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Batiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.
2 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA.
3 Université de Nantes, 2 rue Houssinière, BP 92208, 44322 Nantes Cedex 03, France.
4 IDES, Batiment 509, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.
5 NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway Houston, TX 77058, USA.
6 Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
J.-P. Bibring , E-mail: Bibring{at}ias.fr

The Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, showed that layered sulfate deposits in Meridiani Planum formed during a period of rising acidic ground water. Crystalline hematite spherules formed in the deposits as a consequence of aqueous alteration and were concentrated on the surface as a lag deposit as wind eroded the softer sulfate rocks. We demonstrate based on Mars Express OMEGA orbital data that crystalline hematite deposits are associated with layered sulfates in other areas on Mars, implying Meridiani-like ground water systems were indeed widespread and representative of an extensive acid sulfate aqueous system.


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