Publications by authors named "Suniti Karunatillake"

Water inventories in Martian magmas are poorly constrained. Meteorite-based estimates range widely, from 10 to >10 ppm HO, and are likely variably influenced by degassing. Orbital measurements of H primarily reflect water cycled and stored in the regolith.

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Long-lived hydrothermal systems are prime targets for astrobiological exploration on Mars. Unlike magmatic or impact settings, radiogenic hydrothermal systems can survive for >100 million years because of the Ga half-lives of key radioactive elements (e.g.

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In explaining extensive evidence for past liquid water, the debate on whether Mars was primarily warm and wet or cold and arid 4 billion years (Ga) ago has continued for decades. The Sun's luminosity was ~30% lower 4 Ga ago; thus, most martian climate models struggle to elevate the mean surface temperature past the melting point of water. Basal melting of ice sheets may help resolve that paradox.

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Transport of fine-grained dust is one of the most widespread sedimentary processes occurring on Mars today. In the present climate, eolian abrasion and deflation of rocks are likely the most pervasive and active dust-forming mechanism. Martian dust is globally enriched in S and Cl and has a distinct mean S:Cl ratio.

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Article Synopsis
  • A knowledge gap exists regarding how the eruptive compositions of a single Martian volcanic province, specifically Elysium, change over time.
  • The southeastern lava fields of Elysium Planitia show distinct geochemical signatures compared to other regions, with an estimated age that is about 0.85 billion years younger than the northwestern fields, indicating a temporal variation in volcanic activity.
  • This study is the first to illustrate compositional variation within a single Martian volcanic province, suggesting these differences may stem from factors such as mantle heterogeneity or changes in the depth of melt formation due to crustal loading.
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A variety of actively precipitating mineral environments preserve morphological evidence of microbial biosignatures. One such environment with preserved microbial biosignatures is the oxidized portion of a massive sulfide deposit, or gossan, such as that at Iron Mountain, California. This gossan may serve as a mineralogical analogue to some ancient martian environments due to the presence of oxidized iron and sulfate species, and minerals that only form in acidic aqueous conditions, in both environments.

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