Diagenetic History and Biosignature Preservation Potential of Fine‐Grained Rocks at Hogwallow Flats, Jezero Crater, Mars
Abstract The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover discovered fine‐grained clastic sedimentary rocks in the “Hogwallow Flats” member of the “Shenandoah” formation at Jezero crater, Mars. The Hogwallow Flats member shows evidence of multiple phases of diagenesis including Fe/Mg‐sulfate‐rich (20–30 wt. %) outcrop transitioning downward into red‐purple‐gray mottled outcrop, Fe/Mg clay minerals and oxides, putative concretions, occasional Ca sulfate‐filled fractures, and variable redox state over small (cm) spatial scales. This work uses Mastcam‐Z and SuperCam instrument data to characterize and interpret the sedimentary facies, mineralogy and diagenetic features of the Hogwallow Flats member. The lateral continuity of bedrock similar in tone and morphology to Hogwallow Flats that occurs over several km within the western Jezero sedimentary fan suggests widespread deposition in a lacustrine or alluvial floodplain setting. Following deposition, sediments interacted with multiple fluids of variable redox state and salinity under habitable conditions. Three drilled sample cores were collected from this interval of the Shenandoah formation as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. These samples have very high potential to preserve organic compounds and biosignatures. Drill cores may partially include dark‐toned mottled outcrop that lies directly below light‐toned, sulfate‐cemented outcrop. This facies may represent some of the least oxidized material observed at this interval of the Shenandoah formation. This work reconstructs the diagenetic history of the Hogwallow Flats member and discusses implications for biosignature preservation in rock samples for possible return to Earth.
Authors
- Jorge I. Núñez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0930-6674)
- E. Dehouck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1368-4494)
- Emily Cardarelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5451-2309)
- Mike Zawaski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4235-6510)
- Clément Royer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5472-7235)
- Tanja Bosak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5179-5323)
- Juan Manuel Madariaga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1685-6335)
- Kenneth A. Farley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7846-7546)
- J. N. Maki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7887-0343)
- P. J. Gasda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0895-1153)
- A. Steele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9643-2841)
- Sandra Siljeström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4975-6074)
- James Haber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0374-7575)
- Felipe Gómez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9977-7060)
- Kathleen C. Benison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6104-2333)
- Robert Barnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7864-4824)
- L. Kivrak
- Elise Clavé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9514-8168)
- Elisabeth M. Hausrath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5520-1622)
- Thierry Fouchet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9040-8285)
- N. Mangold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0022-0631)
- Adrian Broz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1843-6702)
- Bradley Garczynski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7668-3675)
- Libby R. W. Ives (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5161-8968)
- L. Mandon
- J. R. Johnson
- W. Rapin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4660-8006)
- Nicolas Randazzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5551-8224)
- Briony H. N. Horgan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6314-9724)
- R. C. Wiens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3409-7344)
- Amy J. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6299-0845)
- Justin I. Simon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3969-8958)
- Kathryn M. Stack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-6695)
- Linda C. Kah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7172-2033)
- H. Kalucha
- B. S. Kathir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1772-0472)
- James F. Bell
Institutions
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR)
- Smithsonian Institution (US)
- West Virginia University (US)
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- University of Oregon (US)
- Carnegie Institution for Science (US)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences (FR)
- Johnson Space Center (US)
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement (FR)
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Western Washington University (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
- Nantes Université (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
- Published
- 2024-11-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008520
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.65