Diverse and highly differentiated lava suite in Jezero crater, Mars: Constraints on intracrustal magmatism revealed by Mars 2020 PIXL

Mariek E. Schmidt*, Tanya V. Kizovski, Yang Liu, Juan D. Hernandez-Montenegro, Michael M. Tice, Allan H. Treiman, Joel A. Hurowitz, David A. Klevang, Abigail L. Knight, Joshua Labrie, Nicholas J. Tosca, Scott J. VanBommel, Sophie Benaroya, Larry S. Crumpler, Briony H.N. Horgan, Richard V. Morris, Justin I. Simon, Arya Udry, Anastasia Yanchilina, Abigail C. AllwoodMorgan L. Cable, John R. Christian, Benton C. Clark, David T. Flannery, Christopher M. Heirwegh, Thomas L.J. Henley, Jesper Henneke, Michael W.M. Jones, Brendan J. Orenstein, Christopher D.K. Herd, Nicholas Randazzo, David Shuster, Meenakshi Wadhwa

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

3 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The Jezero crater floor features a suite of related, iron-rich lavas that were examined and sampled by the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance, and whose textures, minerals, and compositions were characterized by the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). This suite, known as the Máaz formation (fm), includes dark-toned basaltic/trachy-basaltic rocks with intergrown pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar, and altered olivine and overlying trachy-andesitic lava with reversely zoned plagioclase phenocrysts in a K-rich groundmass. Feldspar thermal disequilibrium textures indicate that they were carried from their crustal staging area. Bulk and mafic minerals have very high FeO and low MgO to FeOtotal ratios, which are partially reproduced by thermodynamic models involving high-degree fractional crystallization of a gabbroic assemblage and possibly also assimilation of iron-rich basement. Together, these in situ constraints on petrogenesis provide a uniquely detailed record of intracrustal processes beneath Jezero crater during a time period not represented by Mars samples to date.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereadr2613
JournalScience Advances
Volume11
Issue number4
Number of pages21
ISSN2375-2548
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Diverse and highly differentiated lava suite in Jezero crater, Mars: Constraints on intracrustal magmatism revealed by Mars 2020 PIXL'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this