A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum for Undisturbed Soils from Gusev Crater, Mars

A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum for Undisturbed Soils from Gusev Crater, Mars | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF conference-proceeding A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum for Undisturbed Soils from Gusev Crater, Mars Paulo de Souza This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The mineralogical and elemental composition of Martian soil provides valuable insights into chemical and physical weathering processes on the Red planet's surface. Data from the Mars Exploration Rovers suggest that bright dust deposits on opposite sides of the planet belong to a global unit rather than being influenced by local rock compositions. Dark soil deposits at both sites exhibit similar basaltic mineralogy, indicating either a global component or comparable local rock sources. The presence of olivine suggests limited aqueous alteration, while elevated nickel concentrations imply that the upper soil layers may contain up to one percent meteoritic material, reinforcing the overall homogeneity of Martian surface soil. Physical weathering, driven by extreme temperature fluctuations and strong winds, plays a significant role in soil formation, with global storms facilitating its uniform distribution. Mossbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were divided among multiple instruments, restricting the detection of minor Fe-bearing mineral phases (below 5% WSA). MIMOS II records Mossbauer spectra at 10 K intervals, and to enhance signal to noise ratios, spectra from different intervals were combined, when applicable. For instance, temperature variations between 190 K and 260 K in basaltic samples do not significantly impact the spectra, allowing data from all intervals to be integrated.By combining MIMOS II data from various soil samples and over different temperature ranges, a consolidated M"ossbauer spectrum for Martian soil at Gusev Crater is proposed, aiming to identify potential minor Fe-bearing mineral phases on the planet's surface. This work combines Mossbauer measurements conducted on undisturbed soils within 10 k and all measurements conducted by Spirit until sOl 2062. Martian Soils Gusev Crater Mars Mössbauer Spectroscopy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8477385","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"conference-proceeding","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":571555916,"identity":"b2d0a896-0077-42d2-8eec-7cd6ee60686f","order_by":0,"name":"Paulo de Souza","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACAwjF3gCmGBuI18JzgGQtEglEajFnYN748EfFYXv+mY8PfuZhsJHdcID5mQQ+LZYNbMXGPGcOM0vcTkuW5mFIM95wgM0MrxaDAzxm0oxth9kYbueYMfMwHE7ccICBoBbznz/bDvPI3zz/DajlP1AL+zeCtjDwth2WMLjBwwbUcgCohQe/LZbNbMXSPGfSDQzPpBlLzjFINp55mKfYAp8Wc/bmjR9/VFjbyx0//PDDmwo72b7j7Rtv4HUYMyoXiJmxq0RRMwpGwSgYBaMAPwAAs7lDwuFqgpsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Edith Cowan University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paulo","middleName":"","lastName":"de Souza","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-30 04:53:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":99870233,"identity":"615842dc-1265-4160-ba4b-b08b6fb18903","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-09 09:02:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":29060793,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ICAME2025PaulodeSouza.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8477385/v1/43649a1b5e9f2675dcb5f0f5.pdf"},{"id":99870232,"identity":"bcad551d-180f-4f4e-a202-5b3b1e21c277","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-09 09:02:01","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3862,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"07ef2d4b8a9f4e02980efd796ad40fa4.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8477385/v1/85638d998eb0ac88651a70bf.json"},{"id":100358411,"identity":"f0000e4b-6b00-4566-b048-2cf55dcc78c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 07:21:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":29030101,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ICAME2025PaulodeSouza.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8477385/v1_covered_ebbac869-db66-4a88-bff0-64874d402f93.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum for Undisturbed Soils from Gusev Crater, Mars\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Martian Soils, Gusev Crater, Mars, Mössbauer Spectroscopy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The mineralogical and elemental composition of Martian soil provides valuable insights into chemical and physical weathering processes on the Red planet's surface. Data from the Mars Exploration Rovers suggest that bright dust deposits on opposite sides of the planet belong to a global unit rather than being influenced by local rock compositions. Dark soil deposits at both sites exhibit similar basaltic mineralogy, indicating either a global component or comparable local rock sources. The presence of olivine suggests limited aqueous alteration, while elevated nickel concentrations imply that the upper soil layers may contain up to one percent meteoritic material, reinforcing the overall homogeneity of Martian surface soil. Physical weathering, driven by extreme temperature fluctuations and strong winds, plays a significant role in soil formation, with global storms facilitating its uniform distribution. Mossbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were divided among multiple instruments, restricting the detection of minor Fe-bearing mineral phases (below 5% WSA). MIMOS II records Mossbauer spectra at 10 K intervals, and to enhance signal to noise ratios, spectra from different intervals were combined, when applicable. For instance, temperature variations between 190 K and 260 K in basaltic samples do not significantly impact the spectra, allowing data from all intervals to be integrated.By combining MIMOS II data from various soil samples and over different temperature ranges, a consolidated M\\\"ossbauer spectrum for Martian soil at Gusev Crater is proposed, aiming to identify potential minor Fe-bearing mineral phases on the planet's surface. This work combines Mossbauer measurements conducted on undisturbed soils within 10 k and all measurements conducted by Spirit until sOl 2062.","manuscriptTitle":"A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum for Undisturbed Soils from Gusev Crater, Mars","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-09 09:01:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8477385/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a2d5c030-addc-41f6-99b2-6aba4ce58b95","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-21T09:55:15+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-09 09:01:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8477385","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8477385","identity":"rs-8477385","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}