Seminar

Recent remote sensing exploration has revealed substantial geomorphological and mineralogical evidence for aqueous activity on ancient Mars (>3 billion years ago). However, modeling the climate of early Mars generally failed to warm the surface above freezing, indicating limited liquid water activity. The nature of the early Martian climate is poorly understood and remains as one of outstanding questions in Mars science. Among the most interesting results are the detection of mineralogical stratigraphy, consist of Al clays and Fe/Mg clays. The southern highlands of Mars contain many exposures of these stratigraphy, which is interpreted as pedogenic leaching from precipitation and surface runoff under warm and wet climate. These weathering profiles are the most robust evidence of surface chemical weathering, recording environmental conditions during their formation that are vastly different from those observed today.

This study will use hyperspectral infrared remote sensing to characterize the mineralogy and high-resolution imaging to map the geology, texture and contact relationships in weathering sequences on Mars to further explore the climate of early Mars.