44-6 Amazonian-aged Primary Evaporite Discovered by the Zhurong Rover in the Southern Utopia Planitia, Mars

Session: Advancing Mineral Science and Exploring Planetary Surfaces: In Honor of MSA Dana Medalist, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Part II

Presenting Author:

Jiacheng Liu

Authors:

Liu, Jiacheng¹, Gao, Wenyuan², Michalski, Joseph³, Head, Jim⁴, Wu, Xing⁵, Liu, Yang⁶, Zhou, Mei-Fu⁷, Williams-Jones, Anthony⁸, Wang, Xiao⁹, Ling, Zongcheng¹⁰, Wu, Zhongchen¹¹, Liu, Changqing¹², Lin, Honglei¹³, Sun, Yu¹⁴, Zhao, Guochun¹⁵

(1) The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, (2) Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, (3) The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, (4) Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, (5) National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, (6) National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, (7) Institute of Geochemistry, Guiyang, China, (8) McGill University, Montreal, Canada, (9) The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, (10) Shandong University, Weihai, China, (11) Shandong University, Weihai, China, (12) Shandong University, Weihai, China, (13) Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Beijing, China, (14) Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Beijing, China, (15) The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China,

Abstract:

The Zhurong rover has identified a surface layer consisting of platy rocks enriched in hydrous minerals on a geologically young surface in southern Utopia Planitia, indicating unexpected recent aqueous activity on Mars. The exact composition of these hydrous minerals has remained uncertain, inhibiting our understanding of the aqueous processes and potential habitability on young Mars. In this study, we document unique crystal morphologies—such as radiating crystal clusters and fishtail twinning—characteristic of well-crystallized selenite, a distinctive variety of gypsum. This layer of gypsum selenite, interpreted as a primary evaporite unlike any previously identified sulfate deposits on Mars, points to the former presence of a body of surface water. While the findings could be consistent with evaporation from a hypothesized paleo-ocean in the northern lowlands, the Amazonian age and geologic context suggest a more plausible origin: melting of surface and ground ice, and groundwater upwelling driven by magmatic activity during the Amazonian period.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

© Copyright 2025 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved.