Characterizing Nanophase Materials on Mars: Spectroscopic Studies of Allophane and Imogolite

Jeute, T J ; Baker, L L ; Abidin, Z ; Bishop, J L ; Rampe, E B

关键词: ALUMINUM SILICATES;    NANOPARTICLES;    MARS SURFACE;    SPECTROSCOPY;    SURFACE WATER;    AMORPHOUS MATERIALS;    PLANETARY GEOLOGY;   

RP-ID  :  LPI Contrib. No. 2083-2137,JSC-E-DAA-TN54276

学科分类：天文学(综合)

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

The presence of allophane and other nanophase materials on Mars indicates a time when water was intermittent and short lived. These materials likely represent partially altered or leached basaltic ash and therefore, could represent a geologic marker for where water was present on the Martian surface. Further, they may indicate regions of climate change, where surface water was not present long enough to form clays. Characterization of these materials is important for increasing spectral recognition capacities of our current Martian science array. Ongoing work suggests that variability in the Al:Si ratio of allophane can dictate the amount of both structural and adsorbed water in the crystalline structure.