Lane also used TES data to map hematite deposits in Valles Marineris.  Some of those results (Figure 1) were included in the research paper by lead author Roach et al. entitled “Diagenetic hematite and sulfate assemblages in Valles Marineris” that was published in Icarus (see publication list).  On a similar project, Lane is working with PSI colleagues Drs. Cathy Weitz, Matt Staid, and Eldar Noe Dobrea to do a detailed spectral analysis of the hematite and sulfates, and map their distribution in the Valles Marineris region of Mars.  In both of these projects, hematite is being studies with the co-located occurrences of sulfate as observed by the CRISM and OMEGA instruments.  A final hematite project led by Marra et al. that Lane has contributed to has been accepted for publication and will also appear in Icarus (in 2011).  That paper is entitled “Midinfrared spectra and optical constants of bulk hematite:  Comparison with particulate hematite spectra”.

Figure 1:  Coarsely crystalline hematite distribution in Capri Chasma from TES data.  From Roach et al., 2010

Dr. Lane also is studying the mid-infrared spectroscopic behavior of a suite of synthetic olivines in order to quantify variation due to Fe-Mg cation substitution/solid solution between fayalite and forsterite that affect the fundamental band positions in spectra (Figure 2).  This work quantifies the shifting of the spectral bands and the manuscript entitled “Mid-infrared spectroscopy of synthetic olivines:  Thermal emission, specular and diffuse reflectance, and attenuated total reflectance studies of forsterite to fayalite” is currently in revision at the Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets.  This work is fundamental laboratory-based research that can be applied to understanding the olivine compositions in meteorites and on planetary or asteroidal surfaces.  Two other research projects (described next) utilize this synthetic olivine suite of spectra.

Figure 2.  Thermal emissivity spectra of pressed pellets made from synthetic Mg-Fe olivines across the solid-solution series.  Fo₁₀₀ is forsterite; Fo₀ is fayalite.  Spectra are offset for clarity.  Some water vapor that was not removed fully by the calibration method appears as noise (jaggedness) in the spectra at long wavelengths (smaller wavenumbers).

Dr. Lane is studying the spectroscopic properties of various meteorites, including the Martian lherzolitic shergottite Yamato 984028.  Her meteorite analyses have been presented to the Journal of Polar Science in a 2009 paper authored by Dr. Darby Dyar entitled “Spectroscopy of Yamato 984028”.  This meteorite contains typical mineralogy of lherzolites (pyroxene, olivine, and some maskelynitized feldspar).  Using her suite of synthetic olivine spectra (described above), Lane was able to identify the olivine composition in Y984028 as ~Fo_65-70, a result that matches the petrographic (thin section) determination (Riches et al., Polar Sci., in press) without the requirement of sample preparation.

Dr. Lane also is applying her laboratory olivine suite spectra (Figure 2) to Martian THEMIS and TES data in order to map the locations on Mars of olivine exposed at the surface and to specify the chemistry of these olivine materials.  Through this work, Lane has identified olivine (Fo_65/70) in the Nili Fossae and Isidis basin regions, and across the Syrtis Major volcanic shield (generally Fo₅₀).  Lane found a small but interesting Fe-rich olivine (Fo₄₀) location at the eastern edge of the Syrtis Major central vent (Nili Patera) and an Mg-rich olivine located circumferentially around the Argyre basin.  The Argyre-rim olivine (Figure 3) may be the most Mg-rich olivine on Mars and likely represents an olivine cumulate material that formed at depth from a primary magma (as determined through collaboration with another PSI scientist and petrology expert, Dr. Cyrena Goodrich), and was brought to the surface by the Argyre-forming impact.  These Arygre results were presented at the 2010 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Dr. Lane is continuing her phosphate, sulfate (recently, iron sulfates), and sulfide mineral work by studying their mid-infrared spectroscopic properties using thermal emission measurements acquired in the laboratory at Arizona State University.  Dr. Lane’s collaborative team is continuing to analyze sulfate-rich soils and outcrops in Martian remote-sensing data to identify the specific ferric (and other) sulfates, sulfides, and phosphates that are present in these geologic materials.  Lane is applying her laboratory spectra to interpreting Martian data from the THEMIS and TES instruments in order to study both the sulfates that exist on Mars at areas identified as sulfate-rich by the OMEGA (on Mars Express) and CRISM (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) instruments, as well as the regions rich in hematite.  Many of the sulfates are located in the Valles Marineris in close proximity to several gray hematite deposits as mentioned above.

Figure 3.  Index mapping of high-Mg olivine (green-ish) circumlocated around Argyre basin (32 ppd) in an eroded annulus.  Arrow points to one of many olivine locations around the Argyre rim.

Papers

Farrand, W. H., M. D. Lane, B. R. Edwards, and R. A. Yingst, Spectral evidence of volcanic cryptodomes on the northern plains of Mars, Icarus, 221, 139-156

Roach, L. H., J. F. Mustard, M. D. Lane, J. L. Bishop, and S. L. Murchie (2010) Diagenetic hematite and sulfate assemblages in Valles Marineris, Icarus, 207, 659-674.

Abstracts

Bishop, J. L., T. Hiroi, E. Cloutis, M. D. Lane, W. Freeman, F. Marchis, J. Emery, P. Jenniskens, M. H. Shaddad (2010) Spectroscopy of Almahata Sitta and Goalpara meteorites:  Implications for ureilite composition and association with asteroids, AAS Div. Planet. Sci., 42^nd Annual Meeting, Pasadena, CA, Abstract #13.31.

Dyar, M. D., M. D. Lane, T. Glotch, T. Hiroi, B. Wopenka, R. Klima, J. L. Bishop, C. Pieters, J. Sunshine, G. J. Marchand, and S. J. Seaman (2010) Spectroscopy of Yamato 984028.  In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XLI, Abstract #1831, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Farrand, W. H., M. D. Lane, and B. R. Edwards (2010) Analysis of olivine and augite compositions found in association with domes on the northern plains and associated ice features.  In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XLI, Abstract #1965, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Lane, M. D. and C. A. Goodrich (2010) High-magnesian olivine in the Argyre rim:  Derived from a primitive magma?  In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XLI, Abstract #2094, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Tucker, J. M., M. D. Dyar, S. Humphries, S. M. Clegg, R. C. Wiens, and M. D. Lane (2010) Strategies for Mars remote Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of sulfur in geological samples, Eos Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P11C-1349.

Weitz, C. M., M. D. Lane, E. Noe Dobrea, L. Roach, and A. Knudson (2010) Distribution and formation of crystalline gray hematite in eastern Valles Marineris.  In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XLI, Abstract #2264, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).