An evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples

Evaporation or freezing of water-rich fluids with dilute concentrations of dissolved salts can produce brines, as observed in closed basins on Earth<sup>1</sup> and detected by remote sensing on icy bodies in the outer Solar System<sup>2,3</sup>. The mineralogical evolution of these brines is well understood in regard to terrestrial environments<sup>4</sup>, but poorly constrained for extraterrestrial systems owing to a lack of direct sampling. Here we report the occurrence of salt minerals in samples of the asteroid (101955) Bennu returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission<sup>5</sup>. These include sodium-bearing phosphates and sodium-rich carbonates, sulfates, chlorides and fluorides formed during evaporation of a late-stage brine that existed early in the history of Bennu's parent body. Discovery of diverse salts would not be possible without mission sample return and careful curation and storage, because these decompose with prolonged exposure to Earth's atmosphere. Similar brines probably still occur in the interior of icy bodies Ceres and Enceladus, as indicated by spectra or measurement of sodium carbonate on the surface or in plumes<sup>2,3</sup>.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature
Published
2025-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08495-6
Citations
47
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
54.27

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article

An evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples

Laura Seifert, G. Domínguez, Xiao Sun, S. Ray et al.
47 citations
Nature
Astro and Planetary Science
54.27
article

An evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples

Laura Seifert, G. Domínguez, Xiao Sun, S. Ray, Valerie Tu, N. Kerrison, G. Libourel, Pierre-Marie Zanetta, I. A. Franchi, T. J. Zega, Nicholas E. Timms, H. H. Kaplan, N. V. Almeida, Daniel P. GLAVIN, C. S. Harrison, Z. Gainsforth, Noriyuki Kawasaki, P. F. Schofield, Shogo Tachibana, T. R. Rose, T. J. McCoy, T. Gooding, Vincent Guigoz, Dante S. LAURETTA, K. T. Tait, S. S. Russell, H. C. Bates, William D.A. Rickard, D. N. DellaGiustina, S. A. Singerling, Lowell R. Smith, N. G. Lunning, Hisayoshi Yurimoto, Catherine M. Corrigan, T. R. Ireland, Frank E. Brenker, Fred Jourdan, Z. Zeszut, M. A. Marcus, P. A. Bland, Jessica J. M. Barnes, David W. Saxey, B. S. Prince, Pierre Haenecour, K. Righter, V. E. Hamilton, Scott A. Sandford, Steven M. Reddy, Marc Portail, A. J. King, M. S. Thompson, Naoya Sakamoto, S. A. Eckley, L. P. Keller, Celia Mayers, L. Le, Richard H. Jones, Jason P. Dworkin, T. Salge, I. J. Ong, M. C. Benner, K. Ishimaru, Harold C. Connolly Jr., K. L. Thomas-Keprta, D. H. Hill, L. R. Wardell
article en
47 citations

Abstract

Evaporation or freezing of water-rich fluids with dilute concentrations of dissolved salts can produce brines, as observed in closed basins on Earth<sup>1</sup> and detected by remote sensing on icy bodies in the outer Solar System<sup>2,3</sup>. The mineralogical evolution of these brines is well understood in regard to terrestrial environments<sup>4</sup>, but poorly constrained for extraterrestrial systems owing to a lack of direct sampling. Here we report the occurrence of salt minerals in samples of the asteroid (101955) Bennu returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission<sup>5</sup>. These include sodium-bearing phosphates and sodium-rich carbonates, sulfates, chlorides and fluorides formed during evaporation of a late-stage brine that existed early in the history of Bennu's parent body. Discovery of diverse salts would not be possible without mission sample return and careful curation and storage, because these decompose with prolonged exposure to Earth's atmosphere. Similar brines probably still occur in the interior of icy bodies Ceres and Enceladus, as indicated by spectra or measurement of sodium carbonate on the surface or in plumes<sup>2,3</sup>.

NatureVol. 637(8048)
Smithsonian Institution (US), Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), Ames Research Center (US), Southwest Research Institute (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Planetary Science Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Natural History Museum (GB), American Museum of Natural History (US), National Museum of Natural History (US), Los Alamos National Laboratory (US), University of Arizona (US), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US), The University of Queensland (AU), Université Côte d'Azur (FR), The Open University (GB), Hokkaido University (JP), Curtin University (AU), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), California State University, San Marcos (US), Royal Ontario Museum (CA), University of Manchester (GB), Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR), Johnson Space Center (US), Jacobs (United States) (US), Rowan University (US), University of Rochester (US), The University of Tokyo (JP), Université Jean Monnet (FR), University of California, Berkeley (US)
Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, UK Research and Innovation, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, National Nuclear Security Administration, Johnson Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Astro and Planetary Science
54.27
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