Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site

Laurence A. Soderblom; R. C. Anderson; R. E. Arvidson; J.F. Bell III; N.A. Cabrol; W. Calvin; P. R. Christensen; B. C. Clark; T. Economou; B.L. Ehlmann; W. H. Farrand; D. Fike; Ralf Gellert; T.D. Glotch; M.P. Golombek; R. Greeley; J.P. Grotzinger; Kenneth E. Herkenhoff; D.J. Jerolmack; J. R. Johnson; B. Jolliff; C. Klingelhofer; A.H. Knoll; Z.A. Learner; R. Li; M. C. Malin; S. M. McLennan; H.Y. McSween; D. W. Ming; R.V. Morris; J. W. Rice Jr.; L. Richter; R. Rieder; D. Rodionov; C. Schroder; F.P. Seelos IV; J.M. Soderblom; S. W. Squyres; R. Sullivan; W.A. Watters; C.M. Weitz; M.B. Wyatt; A. Yen; J. Zipfel

doi:10.1126/science.1105127

Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site

Science

By: Laurence A. Soderblom, R. C. Anderson, R. E. Arvidson, J.F. Bell III, N.A. Cabrol, W. Calvin, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, T. Economou, B.L. Ehlmann, W. H. Farrand, D. Fike, Ralf Gellert, T.D. Glotch, M.P. Golombek, R. Greeley, J.P. Grotzinger, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, D.J. Jerolmack, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, C. Klingelhofer, A.H. Knoll, Z.A. Learner, R. Li, M. C. Malin, S. M. McLennan, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, R.V. Morris, J. W. Rice Jr., L. Richter, R. Rieder, D. Rodionov, C. Schroder, F.P. Seelos IV, J.M. Soderblom, S. W. Squyres, R. Sullivan, W.A. Watters, C.M. Weitz, M.B. Wyatt, A. Yen, and J. Zipfel

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1105127

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Abstract

The soils at the Opportunity site are fine-grained basaltic sands mixed with dust and sulfate-rich outcrop debris. Hematite is concentrated in spherules eroded from the strata. Ongoing saltation exhumes the spherules and their fragments, concentrating them at the surface. Spherules emerge from soils coated, perhaps from subsurface cementation, by salts. Two types of vesicular clasts may represent basaltic sand sources. Eolian ripples, armored by well-sorted hematite-rich grains, pervade Meridiani Planum. The thickness of the soil on the plain is estimated to be about a meter. The flatness and thin cover suggest that the plain may represent the original sedimentary surface.

Suggested Citation

Soderblom, L.A., Anderson, R.C., Arvidson, R., Bell, J., Cabrol, N., Calvin, W., Christensen, P.R., Clark, B.C., Economou, T., Ehlmann, B., Farrand, W.H., Fike, D., Gellert, R., Glotch, T., Golombek, M., Greeley, R., Grotzinger, J., Herkenhoff, K.E., Jerolmack, D., Johnson, J.R., Jolliff, B., Klingelhofer, C., Knoll, A., Learner, Z., Li, R., Malin, M.C., McLennan, S.M., McSween, H., Ming, D.W., Morris, R., Rice, J.W., Richter, L., Rieder, R., Rodionov, D., Schroder, C., Seelos, F., Soderblom, J., Squyres, S.W., Sullivan, R., Watters, W., Weitz, C., Wyatt, M., Yen, A., and Zipfel, J., 2004, Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site: Science, v. 306, no. 5702, p. 1723-1726, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1105127.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site
Series title	Science
DOI	10.1126/science.1105127
Volume	306
Issue	5702
Year Published	2004
Language	English
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Contributing office(s)	Astrogeology Science Center
Description	4 p.
Larger Work Type	Article
Larger Work Subtype	Journal Article
Larger Work Title	Science
First page	1723
Last page	1726
Other Geospatial	Mars; Meridiani