Integrating Analytical and Remote Sensing Techniques to Investigate the Petrology of Planetary Surfaces

Interpreting the petrogenesis of materials exposed on the surface of planets and asteroids is fundamental to understanding the origins and evolution of the inner Solar System. Temperature, pressure, fO2, and bulk composition directly influence the petrogenetic history of planetary surfaces and constraining these variables with remote sensing techniques is challenging. The integration of remote sensing data with analytical investigations of natural samples, lab-based spectroscopy, and thermodynamic modelling improves our ability to interpret the petrogenesis of planetary materials.

A suite of naturally heated carbonaceous chondrite material was studied with lab-based spectroscopic techniques, including visible near-infrared and Fourier transform infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Distinct mineralogic, and thus spectroscopic, trends are observed with increasing degree of thermal metamorphism. Characterization of these spectral trends yields a set of mappable parameters that will be applied to remotely sensed data from the OSIRIS-REx science payload. Information about the thermal history of the surface of the asteroid Bennu will aid in the selection of a sampling site, ensuring OSIRIS-REx collects a pristine regolith sample that has not experienced devolatilization of primitive organics or dehydration of phyllosilicates.

The evolution of mafic magma results in distinct major element chemical trends. Mineral assemblages present in evolved volcanic rocks are indicators of these processes. Using laboratory spectroscopic analyses of a suite of evolved volcanic rocks from the Snake River Plain, Idaho, I show that these evolutionary trends are reflected in the spectral signatures of ferromagenesian and feldspar minerals.

The Athena science package on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit allows for the in situ investigation of bulk chemistry, texture, and mineralogy on the surface of Mars. Using the bulk composition of the Irvine and Backstay volcanic rocks, thermodynamic modeling was performed to further constrain the formation conditions of Martian volcanics. Irvine and Backstay compositions exhibit dramatic variations in modal mineralogy with changing fO2. Using these results, I show that the observed Mini-TES spectra of Irvine and Backstay can be adequately reproduced, and additional constraints can be placed on their primary fO2.