A native sulfur deposit in Gale crater, Mars

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: VanBommel, Scott J.; Berger, Jeff A.; King, Penelope L.; Dietrich, William E.; Gellert, Ralf; Thompson, Lucy M.; Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Bryk, Alexander B.; Kite, Edwin S.; Clark, Joanna V.; Cowart, Aster C.; Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Simpson, Sarah L.; Franz, Heather B.; O'Connell-Cooper, Catherine D.; McCraig, Michael A.; Fraeman, Abigail A.; Christian, John R.; Knight, Abigail L.; Boyd, Nicholas I.; Fey, Deirdra M.; Clark, Benton C.; House, Christopher H.
• 署名单位: Washington University (WUSTL); National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); NASA Johnson Space Center; Australian National University; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of Guelph; University of New Brunswick; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); California Institute of Technology; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); University of Chicago; Texas State University System; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); Texas State University San Marcos; NASA Johnson Space Center; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adu5501
• 发表日期: 2026-08-20
• 页码: 820-825
• 关键词: X-RAY SPECTROMETER; chemistry; sequence; rocks; cycle

摘要

Martian rocks are known to contain sulfur-bearing species, including sulfates and sulfides. These compounds record a sulfur cycle that operated over the geological evolution of Mars. We used the Curiosity rover to investigate a deposit of light-toned stones in Gediz Vallis within Gale crater on Mars and found that the stones are composed of native sulfur. The sulfur deposit appears to have formed in place, within a sinuous entrenched canyon cut into the floor of Gediz Vallis. The presence of native sulfur implies that a sulfur enrichment pathway involving buoyant subsurface fluids operated on ancient Mars. We propose that the primary source of this sulfur was magmatic vapor, which cooled in the near subsurface cryosphere and was released by decompression during the erosion of Gediz Vallis.