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Sedimentary textures formed by aqueous processes, Erebus crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars

¹ Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
² Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
³ United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA
⁴ Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
⁵ Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
⁶ Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2100, USA
⁷ Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
⁸ National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
⁹ Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
¹⁰ Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
¹¹ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
¹² Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
¹³ Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
¹⁴ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
¹⁵ Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

New observations at Erebus crater (Olympia outcrop) by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity between sols 671 and 735 (a sol is a martian day) indicate that a diverse suite of primary and penecontemporaneous sedimentary structures is preserved in sulfate-rich bedrock. Centimeter-scale trough (festoon) cross-lamination is abundant, and is better expressed and thicker than previously described examples. Postdepositional shrinkage cracks in the same outcrop are interpreted to have formed in response to desiccation. Considered collectively, this suite of sedimentary structures provides strong support for the involvement of liquid water during accumulation of sedimentary rocks at Meridiani Planum.

Key Words: Mars • water • cross-lamination • shrinkage cracks • sedimentary structures

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. M. Metz, J. P. Grotzinger, D. M. Rubin, K. W. Lewis, S. W. Squyres, and J. F. Bell III Sulfate-Rich Eolian and Wet Interdune Deposits, Erebus Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars Journal of Sedimentary Research, May 1, 2009; 79(5): 247 - 264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]