Mars analog - Argentinian volcano
This is my first try at categories. I
just created the
Mars category like this:
nb -t "Mars" -c new -a
That worked and created a file called data/cat_2.db.
Here is the article reference that caused me to start creating
categories and this is really why I wanted to use a tool like
Nanoblogger. I wanted to be able to comment on things I see and
then be able to get back to them easily in the future.
Capahue Volcano: A modern Terrestrial Analog for the Opportunity
Landing Site
Varekamp, J.C.
Eos Transactions, AGU
85-41
P. 401, 407
The article talks about the unusual mineralogic and compositional
findings from Opportunity being rare on Earth but can be found in
in alteration zones with fumarolic activity in some volcanic
craters. Sulfur rich gasses create acidic fluids that leach rocks
creating bleached areas rick in hematite cristobalite, gypsum,
alunite, or jarosite. In the Copahue Volcano, he says that the
majority of the water that is leaching material is coming from the
magma. What would happen if there was a large amount of this kind
of activity over a large period of time? Then you block the outlet,
build up pressure, and get a plinean eruptions? What would this say
about the possibility for life? The spring that the author studies
is coming out at a pH of 1.3 and 80 °C. Ouch!
There is also a great picture of the author standing over an
outflow with red hematite precipitates along the side. I did not
see any discussion of what is leaving in these waters. That would
be interesting to compare to what is in Yellowstone where I have
looked at things like gray and pink streamers, phormidium, and
calathrax. I forget the name of the super high temperature yellow
organism. I took these pictures back in 1995 when working for Deena
Braunstein and Don Lowe. These links may break in time when I fix
these sites.
Phormidium Picture
Calithrax Picture
Not Mars stuff, but here are two links to UCSD repository of
documents, PhD Theses, etc.
SIO Pubs
SIO eScholarship Repository
