Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars

J. P. Grotzinger(California Institute of Technology), Sanjeev Gupta(Imperial College London), M. C. Malin(Malin Space Science Systems (United States)), David M. Rubin(University of California, Santa Cruz), Jüergen Schieber(Indiana University Bloomington), K. L. Siebach(California Institute of Technology), D. Y. Sumner(University of California, Davis), K. M. Stack(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), A. R. Vasavada(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), R. E. Arvidson(Washington University in St. Louis), F. J. Calef(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Lauren Edgar(United States Geological Survey), W. Fischer(California Institute of Technology), J. A. Grant(Smithsonian Institution), J. L. Griffes(California Institute of Technology), Linda C. Kah(University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Michael P. Lamb(California Institute of Technology), K. W. Lewis(Johns Hopkins University), N. Mangold(Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences), M. E. Minitti(Planetary Science Institute), M. C. Palucis(California Institute of Technology), M. S. Rice(Western Washington University), R. M. E. Williams(Planetary Science Institute), R. A. Yingst(Planetary Science Institute), D. F. Blake(Ames Research Center), D. L. Blaney(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), P. G. Conrad(Goddard Space Flight Center), J. A. Crisp(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), W. E. Dietrich(Planetary Science Institute), Gilles Dromart(Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1), K. S. Edgett(Malin Space Science Systems (United States)), R. C. Ewing(Texas A&M University), R. Gellert(University of Guelph), J. A. Hurowitz(Stony Brook University), Gary Kocurek(The University of Texas at Austin), Paul Mahaffy(Goddard Space Flight Center), M. J. McBride(Malin Space Science Systems (United States)), S. M. McLennan(Stony Brook University), M. Mischna(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), D. W. Ming(Johnson Space Center), R. E. Milliken(Brown University), H. E. Newsom(University of New Mexico), Dorothy Z. Oehler(LZ Technology (United States)), T. J. Parker(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), D. T. Vaniman(Planetary Science Institute), R. C. Wiens(Los Alamos National Laboratory), Sharon A. Wilson(Smithsonian Institution)
Science
October 8, 2015
10.1126/science.aac7575
Cited by 633

Abstract

The landforms of northern Gale crater on Mars expose thick sequences of sedimentary rocks. Based on images obtained by the Curiosity rover, we interpret these outcrops as evidence for past fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments. Degradation of the crater wall and rim probably supplied these sediments, which advanced inward from the wall, infilling both the crater and an internal lake basin to a thickness of at least 75 meters. This intracrater lake system probably existed intermittently for thousands to millions of years, implying a relatively wet climate that supplied moisture to the crater rim and transported sediment via streams into the lake basin. The deposits in Gale crater were then exhumed, probably by wind-driven erosion, creating Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp).

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