ArticleAstrobiology2020
The Case for Ancient Hot Springs in Gusev Crater, Mars.
Article in Astrobiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Planetary sources of bio-essential nutrients on a prebiotic world.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Could Life Have Started on Mars? Planetary Conditions That Assemble and Destroy Protocells.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Modern analogs for ammonia flux from terrestrial hydrothermal features to the Archean atmosphere.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- An Overview of Lipid Biomarkers in Terrestrial Extreme Environments with Relevance for Mars Exploration.Astrobiology · 2023Review
- Nitrogen Incorporation in Potassic and Micro- and Meso-Porous Minerals: Potential Biogeochemical Records and Targets for Mars Sampling.Astrobiology · 2022Article
- Article
- Lipid Profiles From Fresh Biofilms Along a Temperature Gradient on a Hydrothermal Stream at El Tatio (Chilean Andes), as a Proxy for the Interpretation of Past and Present Biomarkers Beyond Earth.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Morphogenesis of digitate structures in hot spring silica sinters of the El Tatio geothermal field, Chile.Geobiology · 2022Article
- Introduction-First Billion Years: Habitability.Astrobiology · 2021Review
- Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Fingerprinting molecular and isotopic biosignatures on different hydrothermal scenarios of Iceland, an acidic and sulfur-rich Mars analog.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Factoring Origin of Life Hypotheses into the Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The origin and age of opaline silica deposits discovered by the Spirit rover adjacent to the Home Plate feature in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater remains debated, in part because of their proximity to sulfur-rich soils. Processes related to fumarolic activity and to hot springs and/or geysers are the leading candidates. Both processes are known to produce opaline silica on Earth, but with differences in composition, morphology, texture, and stratigraphy. Here, we incorporate new and existing observations of the Home Plate region with observations from field and laboratory work to address the competing hypotheses. The results, which include new evidence for a hot spring vent mound, demonstrate that a volcanic hydrothermal system manifesting both hot spring/geyser and fumarolic activity best explains the opaline silica rocks and proximal S-rich materials, respectively. The opaline silica rocks most likely are sinter deposits derived from hot spring activity. Stratigraphic evidence indicates that their deposition occurred before the emplacement of the volcaniclastic deposits comprising Home Plate and nearby ridges. Because sinter deposits throughout geologic history on Earth preserve evidence for microbial life, they are a key target in the search for ancient life on Mars.
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