Ground-based stratigraphic correlation of the Jura and Knockfarril Hill members of the Murray formation, Gale crater: bridging the Vera Rubin ridge – Glen Torridon divide

Christopher M. Fedo (1) , J.P. Grotzinger (2) , A Bryk (3) , K Bennett (4) , V Fox (2) , N. Stein (2) , A Fraeman (5) , S Banham (6) , S. Gupta (6) , K Edgett (7) , Gwénaël Caravaca (8) , C House (9) , F. Rivera-Hernandez (10) , V Sun (5) , A R Vasavada (5)

1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences [Knoxville]
2 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences [Pasadena]
3 EPS - Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley]
4 Astrogeology Science Center [Flagstaff]
5 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
6 Department of Earth Science and Engineering [Imperial College London]
7 MSSS - Malin Space Science Systems
8 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112]
9 Department of Geosciences [PennState]
10 Darmouth College [Hanover, New Hampshire]

Lithostratigraphic correlation representsa fundamental tool for interpreting the depositionalhistory and stratal architecture in sedimentaryrock successions. On Earth, this is accomplished bymeasuring the thickness and lithologies through a stratigraphicunit at multiple places along and across strike,then linking similar rock types. Across kilometer-scaledistances, such correlations have the potential to notonly connect lithologies, but also identify units thatwere deposited at or near the same time as a single bodyof sediment. Prior to the exploration of Gale crater byCuriosity, this type of correlation had not been possibleon Mars because of the requirement for making groundbasedobservations of the same unit in multiple locations.This paper reports on stratigraphic correlation ofthe Jura and Knockfarril Hill members of the Murrayformation across the Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) and GlenTorridon (GT) areas, which are separated by topographic,mineralogic, and spectral boundaries.

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre; Stratigraphie

Christopher M. Fedo, J.P. Grotzinger, A Bryk, K Bennett, V Fox, et al.. Ground-based stratigraphic correlation of the Jura and Knockfarril Hill members of the Murray formation, Gale crater: bridging the Vera Rubin ridge – Glen Torridon divide. 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar & Planetary Institute, Mar 2020, The Woodlands, Texas, United States. ⟨hal-02526528⟩