Sedimentary Systems on a Volcanic World: Exploring Mars with Curiosity and Perseverance

The Martian sedimentary system contains incredibly well-preserved geologic records from ~3.5-4 billion years ago, approximately the time when life evolved on Earth, when Earth and Mars both had flowing rivers, lakes, and environments suited for life. We currently have two active NASA rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, exploring deltaic systems in impact craters that served as sedimentary basins on Mars. Dr. Seibach will discuss how the sedimentary records we have observed with both rovers inform our understanding of the overall sedimentary cycle on our neighboring planet. Mars' sedimentary cycle offers us both a glimpse into the past on Mars and a basalt-dominated, (probably) life-free, lower gravity, freeze-dried, full-scale geological experiment to compare with terrestrial sedimentary systems. Dr. Seibach will frame the discussion around "source to sink" processes, from the (mostly) volcanic provenance of sedimentary grains, to weathering, transport, and mineral sorting, to deposition, lithification, and diagenesis.