Engineering topics

Drief, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Drief, A..

3 records

NASA NTRS2006

Understanding Surface Processes on Mars Through Study of Iron Oxides/Oxyhydroxides: Clues to Surface Alteration and Aqueous Processes

We are performing oxidation and reduction reactions on hydrated ferric oxide minerals in order to investigate how these might alter under a variety of conditions on the surface of Mars. Preliminary experiments on ferrihydrite and goethite showed that heating these minerals in a dry oxidizing environment produces fine-grained hematite, while heating these minerals in a reducing environment produces fine-grained magnetite. Under Mars-like oxidation levels this magnetite then oxidizes to maghemite. These reactions are dependent on the presence of water and organic material that can act as a reductant. We are using reflectance and Mossbauer spectroscopy to characterize the reaction products and TEM to analyze the sample texture. Our preliminary results indicate that magnetite and maghemite could be formed in the soil on Mars from ferrihydrite and goethite if organics were present on early Mars.

Bishop, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Cemented Volcanic Soils, Martian Spectra and Implications for the Martian Climate

Cemented soils formed via reactions with salts are studied here and provide information about the climate when they formed. Spectroscopic and microprobe studies have been performed on cemented volcanic crusts in order to learn about the composition of these materials, how they formed, and what they can tell us about climatic interactions with surface material on Mars to form cemented soils. These crusts include carbonate, sulfate and opaline components that may all be present in cemented soil units on Mars.

Bishop, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Classifying Terrestrial Volcanic Alteration Processes and Defining Alteration Processes they Represent on Mars

Characterizing alteration of the rocks on Mars is difficult, but some guidelines can be made through comparison with terrestrial volcanic alteration. Subaerial volcanic activity on the Hawaiian islands and subglacial volcanic activity on Iceland have led to the formation of a variety of silicate and iron oxide-rich alteration products that may serve as models for chemical alteration on Mars. Multiple samples have been collected from palagonitized tuffs, altered pillow lavas, altered tephra, and S-rich vents for study in the lab. Variations in the kinds of alteration products have been observed depending on the sample environment. We are defining associations between the alteration products and formation conditions that can be used to provide information about environmental conditions on Mars. In particular, we are providing definitions for palagonitic, pedogenic and solfataric alteration that can be used to characterize these alteration processes.

Bishop, J. L.↗