Mineralogy of Phyllosilicates
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Phyllosilicates"Wikipedia
Phyllosiliates are a wide class of sheet silicates. All involve "water" to some degree in their formation but many, including chlorite and serpentinite are formed at high temperatures inside solid masses of rock with no trace of what we would call "running water". Their genesis is in moderate temperature metamorphic rock, often in the retrograde stage as hot rocks cool down and begin to react with water again.
Unfortunately, the IR spectra of true clays is NOT distinctive vs these high temperature metamorphic minerals.
I understand your *wish* for evidence of water on Mars, but we must proceed carefully and not leap to conclusions. The presence of phyllosilicates in deltas is very interesting, but is NOT conclusive proof of water activity. It's close to proof, and well worth sending a lander/rover to check out, but it is NOT definitive.
Space/Science » in reply to re: Ummm...- Phyllosilicates are different... they/clay like minerals are dissolved from water.
phyllosilicates
The whole thread (29 posts)
- Ancient Mars was wet and diverse....
- Wet yes, but wet with what?
- re: Wet yes, but wet with what?
- re: Wet yes, but wet with what?
- Unfortunately
- re: Wet yes, but wet with what?
- re: Wet yes, but wet with what?
- all still too early
- Rivers flowed WHEN it rained *
- re: Ancient Mars was wet and diverse.... to Marsbug below:
- Wet yes, but wet with what?