A Review of the “Black Beauty” Martian Regolith Breccia and Its Martian Habitability RecordOPEN ACCESS 

· by · in , ,

Arthur Goodwin, Russell J. Garwood and Romain Tartèse

Astrobiology
Mini Review, Published Online: 25 Feb 2022

LINK (OPEN ACCESS)
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

“The regolith breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 and paired samples are unique meteorite representatives of the martian crust. They are water rich, lithologically varied, and preserve the oldest martian zircon grains yet discovered that formed ca. 4500–4300 Ma. The meteorite thus provides us with an invaluable record of the crustal and environmental conditions on early Mars. Resetting of some radioisotopic chronometers occurred in response to a major thermal disturbance event ca. 1500–1400 Ma, likely caused by an impactor that brecciated and redeposited NWA 7034 near the surface in an ejecta blanket. Lithologies comprising NWA 7034 were then aqueously altered by a long-lasting impact-induced hydrothermal system, before being excavated and ejected by a subsequent impact at ca. 5–15 Ma. This review compiles chronological and petrological information into an overarching geochronological summary for NWA 7034 and paired samples. We then provide a synopsis for the volatile (H2O, C) inventory and hydrothermal alteration history of NWA 7034. From this geochronological history and volatile inventory, we interpret and assess two potential periods of martian habitability: (1) an early window of pre-Noachian planetary habitability, and (2) impact-derived hydrothermal systems that allowed intermittent habitable crater environments well into the Amazonian. “

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Impact and habitability scenarios for early Mars revisited based on a 4.45-Ga shocked zircon in regolith brecciaOPEN ACCESS 
  2. Geologic history of martian regolith breccia Northwest Africa 7034: Evidence for hydrothermal activity and lithologic diversity in the martian crust
  3. Nickeliferous pyrite tracks pervasive hydrothermal alteration in Martian regolith breccia: A study in NWA 7533
  4. Chronology of martian breccia NWA 7034 and the formation of the martian crustal dichotomyOPEN ACCESS 
  5. Petrography and composition of Martian regolith breccia meteorite Northwest Africa 7475
  6. Mineralogical Constraints on the Thermal History of Martian Regolith Breccia Northwest Africa 8114OPEN ACCESS 
  7. Ancient geologic events on Mars revealed by zircons and apatites from the Martian regolith breccia NWA 7034
  8. Water on Mars: Insights from apatite in regolith breccia Northwest Africa 7034
  9. The ‘Black Beauty’ meteorite NWA 7034 (Science Podcast)
  10. Raman spectroscopy investigations of the Martian regolith breccia Northwest Africa 7533: A support to in situ Raman spectroscopy on Mars
Tags: , , ,