Mineral paragenesis on Mars: The roles of reactive surface area and diffusion.

ABSTRACT: Geochemical models of secondary mineral precipitation on Mars generally assume semiopen systems (open to the atmosphere but closed at the water-sediment interface) and equilibrium conditions. However, in natural multicomponent systems, the reactive surface area of primary minerals controls the dissolution rate and affects the precipitation sequences of secondary phases, and simultaneously, the transport of dissolved species may occur through the atmosphere-water and water-sediment interfaces. Here we present a suite of geochemical models designed to analyze the formation of secondary minerals in basaltic sediments on Mars, evaluating the role of (i) reactive surface areas and (ii) the transport of ions through a basalt sediment column. We consider fully open conditions, both to the atmosph

SUBMITTER: Fairen AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5656915 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature