Weathering alteration in the Antarctic environment as seen in the Miller Range (MIL) 090030 Martian meteorite

The analysis of Martian meteorites is a key research to understand the mineralogical composition of Mars. However, they suffer different types of alteration due to the environment where they fall on Earth. These differences should be identified in order to characterize correctly the original Martian...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Coloma, Leire, Aramendia Gutiérrez, Julene, Huidobro Martin, Jennifer, Población Concejo, Iratxe Aranzazu, García Florentino, Cristina, Castro Ortiz de Pinedo, Kepa, Arana Momoitio, Gorka, Madariaga Mota, Juan Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/68054
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/68054
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Antarctic glaciology
extraterrestrial glaciology
snow and ice chemistry
Descripción
Sumario:The analysis of Martian meteorites is a key research to understand the mineralogical composition of Mars. However, they suffer different types of alteration due to the environment where they fall on Earth. These differences should be identified in order to characterize correctly the original Martian compounds. Most of the meteorites found on Earth are collected in Antarctica where the environmental conditions are such that, in general and based on many previous investigations, produce fewer alterations compared with other terrestrial environments such as hot deserts. In this study, the weathering alterations of minerals from the MIL 090030 Martian Nakhlite found in Antarctica were analyzed to determine which minerals are formed by Antarctic environmental conditions. It was confirmed that the south-polar region environment can contaminate Martian meteorites and, in this study, several minerals like halite, nitratine and niter, were detected as weathering alteration products that have not been referenced in the literature before.