Remote sensing and in situ mineralogic survey of the Chilean salars: An analog to Mars evaporate deposits?

The identification and characterization of hydrated minerals within ancient aqueous environments on Mars are high priorities for determining the past habitability of the planet. Few studies, however, have focused on characterizing the entire mineral assemblage, even though it could aide our understanding of past environments. In this study we use both spaceborne and field (VNIR spectroscopy) analyses to study the mineralogy of various salt flats (salars) of the northern region of Chile as an analog for Martian evaporites. These data are then compared to laboratory based Raman and XRD analyses for a complete overview on mineral assemblages. Central (core) and marginal zones within the salars are easily distinguished on the Landsat 8 band color composites. These areas host different mineral assemblages that often result in different landscapes. The lower elevation Salar de Atacama, located in the Andean pre-depression, is characterized by a unique thick halite crust at its center, whereas various assemblages of calcium sulfates (gypsum, bassanite, anhydrite) and sodium sulfates (mirabilite, thenardite, blodite, glauberite), borates (ulexite, pinnoite), Al/Fe- clays and carbonates (calcite, aragonite) were found at its margin. Sulfates form the main crust of the Andean salars to the east, although various compositions are observed. These compositions appear controlled by the type of feeder brine (Ca, SO4 or mixed), a result of the local geology among other factors. Sulfate crusts were found to be generally thin (<5 cm) with a sharp transition to the underlying clay, silt, or sand-rich alluvial deposits. Coupled with morphologic analyses, VNIR spectroscopy provides a powerful tool to distinguish different salt crusts. XRD analysis allowed us to quantify the mineral assemblages and assess the limitations of VNIR techniques in the presence of hydrated sulfates, which tend to mask the signatures of other minerals such as clays, chlorides, and carbonates. We found that the Atacama's unique arid and volcanic environment, coupled with the transition recorded in some of the salars has a strong Mars analog potential. Characterizing the outcrop mineralogy at a variety of environments from alkaline, lake waters to more acidic salar brines may help in constraining geochemical environments on Mars.