A chemical analysis of NASA's Curiosity rover shows that water several times created rich mineral veins in a place called “Garden City” at the bottom of Sharp Mountain.
Vein-like formations in places where fluid moves through cracks in the rock accumulates minerals and exposes chemical characteristics. Some of these mineral veins on Garden City protrude a few centimeters above the now blurred rock in which they formed.
This place was not available for the Curiosity drill, but in March the rover used a ChemCam laser and discovered a varied chemical soup.
“I think this is one of the richest chemistry sites we have seen. We didn’t find a similar variety of chemical components at such a limited site,” said Curiosity mission scientist Diane Blaine from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Many of the veins contain rich deposits of calcium sulfate. Others are rich in magnesium sulphate or fluoride. Iron levels vary. Mount Sharpe, which is three miles high, rises from the bottom of a huge pool that was once filled with water. The Garden City region was formed from mud in a lake, which eventually hardened and cracked.
“In Garden City we have a unique opportunity to study the cross-section of minerals with their chemical components, which we found in various fluids of other places. And, looking at this cross-section and various chemical components, I believe we have convincing evidence that this place was replenished many times with water, "said Blainey.
"We know how long these events took place," she added.
Currently, the rover is exploring the younger, higher regions of the mountain.
The study was presented this week at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland.
