Abstract
The pathways of chemical weathering processes on Earth, and the virtual absence of them on the Moon, are well characterized because we have direct access to samples of primary igneous rocks, their upper mantle sources and derivative sedimentary rocks and soil forming the regolith. Tracing chemical changes on the surface of Mars, however, is more difficult because of limited access to samples from Mars. Terrestrial rocks and minerals are continually being sought which might serve as analogues for martian materials. Evidence presented here suggests that hisingerite, iddingsite and several ferric sulphate minerals derived from deuteric alteration of iron-rich basalts may provide clues to the evolutionary history of the surface of Mars.
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Burns, R. Terrestrial analogues of the surface rocks of Mars?. Nature 320, 55–56 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320055a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320055a0
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