This is a good read: Zapping Mars Rocks with Gamma Rays! It discusses the exposure of Mars rocks with Gamma Radiation to sterilize them. They fried some earth rocks to see what would happen. It's a good discussion about the effects of Gamma Rays on various earth rocks. Check out what happens to quartz! A clear quartz crystal was turned "almost opaque" after thirty million rads. The coloring occured heterogenically within bands. "Halite turned blue with irradiation." Cool. Under similar conditions carbonates turned "brighter". Didn't see anything about sulfates, or hematite for that matter.
I'll have to go to the library and check out the original in JGR.
How many rads has Mazatlal experienced, I wonder. And not just Gamma, either.
Or is it fused, as Nick suggests. Or both. A fused glassy surface sitting out in the martian surface getting cooked by radiation.
Space/Science » in reply to Robert, a "pit bull on the pants leg" of martian color!
Gamma Rays & Rocks: a good read...
The whole thread (33 posts)
- Glassy material at the Spirit site.
- Mazatlal rock--MI and color
- Clarification
- some guesses and first impressions
- 3D image of the glassy material.