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Infrared Spectroscopic Analyses of Sulfate, Nitrate, and Carbonate-bearing Atacama Desert Soils: Analogs for the Interpretation of Infrared Spectra from the Martian SurfaceThe Atacama Desert of northern Chile is the driest desert on Earth, receiving only a few mm of rain per decade. The Mars climate may, in the past, have been punctuated by short-lived episodes of aqueous activity. The paleo-Martian environment may have had aqueous conditions similar to the current conditions that exist in the Atacama, and Mars soils may have formed with soil chemistry and mineralogy similar to those found in the Atacama. Remote and in-situ analysis of the Martian surface using infrared technology has a long heritage. Future investigations of the subsurface mineralogy are likely to build upon this heritage, and will benefit from real life lessons to be learned from terrestrial analog studies. To that end, preliminary results from a near- and mid-infrared spectroscopic study of Atacama soil profiled at a range of depths are presented.
Document ID
20050175994
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Dalton, J. B. (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Dalton, J. B. (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Ewing, S. A. (California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Amundson, R. (California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
McKay, C. P. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 18
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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IDRelationTitle20050175899Collected WorksLunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 18
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