Jarosite formation in deep Antarctic ice provides a window into acidic, water-limited weathering on Mars

Giovanni Baccolo; Barbara Delmonte; P. B. Niles; Giannantonio Cibin; Elena Di Stefano; Dariush Hampai; Lindsay Keller; Valter Maggi; Augusto Marcelli; Joseph Michalski; Christopher Snead; Massimo Frezzotti

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20705-z

Nature Communications (Jan 2021)

Jarosite formation in deep Antarctic ice provides a window into acidic, water-limited weathering on Mars

Giovanni Baccolo,
Barbara Delmonte,
P. B. Niles,
Giannantonio Cibin,
Elena Di Stefano,
Dariush Hampai,
Lindsay Keller,
Valter Maggi,
Augusto Marcelli,
Joseph Michalski,
Christopher Snead,
Massimo Frezzotti

Affiliations

Giovanni Baccolo: Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca
Barbara Delmonte: Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca
P. B. Niles: NASA Johnson Space Center
Giannantonio Cibin: Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Elena Di Stefano: Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca
Dariush Hampai: Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Lindsay Keller: NASA Johnson Space Center
Valter Maggi: Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca
Augusto Marcelli: Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Joseph Michalski: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong
Christopher Snead: Jacobs, NASA Johnson Space Center
Massimo Frezzotti: Department of Science, University Roma Tre

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20705-z
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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The authors report in-situ formation of jarosite witin the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica) and show that this ferric-potassium sulfate mineral is present in ice deeper than 1000 meters and progressively increases with depth. This has implications for the presence and formation mechanisms of jarosite observed on Mars.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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