Mineralogy and Shock Effects in Martian Regolith Breccias

In Martian history, asteroids have continuously collided with Mars. The catastrophic activity (impact) can produce high pressure, and finally affected properties of minerals in meteorites, which means the minerals were shocked. The force of impact for ejecting Martian meteorites can be 60 GPa, about 600,000 times of the atmosphere pressure on Earth surface. When the minerals are shocked, their X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and spectral characteristics are different with the ones of “normal” (unshocked) minerals. Nicknamed “Black Beauty”, meteorite NWA 8171 is unique because it is the only Martian surficial sample and it has abundant water-bearing components and the minerals may have been shocked by more than one impact! The mineralogy, including hydrous components and the distinctive shock features of minerals will be identified using XRD and spectral methods. Habitability assessment on Mars will be achieved based on the information of hydrous phases.

Faculty Supervisor:

Roberta Flemming

Student:

Partner:

Okayama University

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Other; Technology

University:

Western University

Program: