Stratigraphy of Carbonate‐Bearing Rocks at the Margin of Jezero Crater, Mars: Evidence for Shoreline Processes?

Abstract Martian carbonate‐bearing rocks are compelling targets for exploration because they preserve detailed records of past aqueous processes, climate, and habitability. The Margin unit in Jezero crater is a distinct olivine‐ and carbonate‐bearing unit stratigraphically underlying the western fan, lining the inner margin of the western crater rim and has a contested origin. Perseverance spent ∼350 sols investigating the unit as part of its fourth mission campaign, aiming to constrain its origin, alteration history and biosignature preservation potential. This study reports on the lithofacies and stratigraphy of the unit by analyzing Mastcam‐Z mosaics and derived 3D outcrop models, supplemented by long‐distance SuperCam observations and detailed textural analyses from SHERLOC WATSON and ACI images. We find that the Margin unit comprises two distinct sub‐units. The Eastern Margin Unit (EMU) comprises well‐stratified, low‐angle basinward‐, rimward‐ and sub‐horizontally inclined medium‐grained sandstones which preserve angular to rounded grains, occasional cross‐stratification, convex‐up bedding, and erosion surfaces. The Western Margin Unit (WMU) comprises distinctly structureless to decimeter‐scale parallel‐layered rocks which drape the crater rim and are inclined into the crater. The origin of the WMU is uncertain but may be most consistent with a variably carbonated olivine cumulate. The favored depositional model for the EMU is a lacustrine shore zone environment where sediments derived from the adjacent WMU have been locally reworked by wave action along a paleoshoreline at around –2,400 m elevation. These observations suggest that the Margin unit preserves diverse subsurface and surface aqueous environments and further extends the habitability window at Jezero crater.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025je009111
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
23.83
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article

Stratigraphy of Carbonate‐Bearing Rocks at the Margin of Jezero Crater, Mars: Evidence for Shoreline Processes?

Gerhard Paar, B. Horgan, Gwénaël Caravaca, Sanna Alwmark et al.
1 citations
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Planetary Science and Exploration
23.83
article

Stratigraphy of Carbonate‐Bearing Rocks at the Margin of Jezero Crater, Mars: Evidence for Shoreline Processes?

Gerhard Paar, B. Horgan, Gwénaël Caravaca, Sanna Alwmark, A. J. Brown, J. N. Maki, C. C. Bedford, Ken Farley, N. R. Williams, Robert Barnes, Kenneth H. Williford, Eleni Ravanis, Olivier Beyssac, Nicolas Randazzo, J. F. Bell, Alicia Vaughan, Justin I. Simon, Stephen W. Lokier, L C Kah, Christian Tate, L. S. Crumpler, Athanasios Klidaras, Kathryn Marie Morgan Stack, Alexander Jones, Sanjeev Gupta, Sam Gwizd, Jorge I. Núñez, Libby R. W. Ives, Fred Calef, Bradley J. Garzcynski
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Abstract Martian carbonate‐bearing rocks are compelling targets for exploration because they preserve detailed records of past aqueous processes, climate, and habitability. The Margin unit in Jezero crater is a distinct olivine‐ and carbonate‐bearing unit stratigraphically underlying the western fan, lining the inner margin of the western crater rim and has a contested origin. Perseverance spent ∼350 sols investigating the unit as part of its fourth mission campaign, aiming to constrain its origin, alteration history and biosignature preservation potential. This study reports on the lithofacies and stratigraphy of the unit by analyzing Mastcam‐Z mosaics and derived 3D outcrop models, supplemented by long‐distance SuperCam observations and detailed textural analyses from SHERLOC WATSON and ACI images. We find that the Margin unit comprises two distinct sub‐units. The Eastern Margin Unit (EMU) comprises well‐stratified, low‐angle basinward‐, rimward‐ and sub‐horizontally inclined medium‐grained sandstones which preserve angular to rounded grains, occasional cross‐stratification, convex‐up bedding, and erosion surfaces. The Western Margin Unit (WMU) comprises distinctly structureless to decimeter‐scale parallel‐layered rocks which drape the crater rim and are inclined into the crater. The origin of the WMU is uncertain but may be most consistent with a variably carbonated olivine cumulate. The favored depositional model for the EMU is a lacustrine shore zone environment where sediments derived from the adjacent WMU have been locally reworked by wave action along a paleoshoreline at around –2,400 m elevation. These observations suggest that the Margin unit preserves diverse subsurface and surface aqueous environments and further extends the habitability window at Jezero crater.

Journal of Geophysical Research PlanetsVol. 131(1)
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), California Institute of Technology (US), United States Geological Survey (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Joanneum Research (AT), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), University of Alberta (CA), Lund University (SE), Cornell University (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), University of Derby (GB), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US), New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (US), Apogee Technology (United States) (US), Impeto Medical (France) (FR), Blue Marble Space (US), Johnson Space Center (US), Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (US), Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (FR), Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Imperial College London (GB), Western Washington University (US), Arizona State University (US), University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Planetary Science and Exploration
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