Abstract
The source of sulfuric acid and associated aqueous alteration of ancient martian sedimentary rocks remain under debate in the context of divergent models of jarosite formation. Here, we report the formation of sulfates, including jarosite in K-bentonites within shallow-water facies of the Permian-Triassic (P-T) transition at Xiakou in South China. In these strata, jarosite is dispersed in the clay matrix or forms aggregates in pore spaces, has a euhedral morphology, and coexists with variably 34S-depleted paragenetic gypsum and bassanite (δ34S = –37.23‰ to +3.20‰ VCDT). Subaqueous alteration of volcanic tuffs concurrently with oxidation of upwelled, biogenically sourced H2S is the process of jarosite formation in the Xiakou K-bentonites. This mechanism of jarosite precipitation and stability over geological time challenges the long-held view of acidic, water-limited conditions leading to iron(III) sulfate precipitation and would be consistent with possible microbial or nanobial life on early Mars.
Acknowledgments and Funding
We thank Y.J.L., Q.F., K.Y., and J.Z. for their assistance in HRTEM and SEM analyses, and especially thank Lindsay McHenry, the handling editor, and Sally Potter-McIntyre for their insightful reviews, valuable comments, and suggestions. Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China [42172045, 41972040]. Author contributions: H.L.H. conceived, designed, and performed the research and wrote the original draft. C.L. performed the XRD, SEM, and HRTEM analyses. T.J.A. and E.B.R. wrote some paragraphs and edited the paper. Conflict of Interest: Conflict of interest statement. None declared. Data and materials availability: All raw data and results, including the images in Gatan DM ImageDocument format, are available upon request.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Germanium distribution in Mississippi Valley-Type systems from sulfide deposition to oxidative weathering: A perspective from Fule Pb-Zn(-Ge) deposit, South China
- Characterization and potential toxicity of asbestiform erionite from Gawler Downs, New Zealand
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- K isotopic fractionation in K-feldspar: Effects of mineral chemistry
- Jarosite formation in Permian-Triassic strata at Xiakou (South China): Implications for jarosite precipitation from H2S upwelling on Mars
- The effect of A-site cations on charge-carrier mobility in Fe-rich amphiboles
- Calorimetry and structural analysis of uranyl sulfates with rare topologies
- Biological control of ultra-skeleton mineralization in coral
- Systematic study of high field strength elements during liquid immiscibility between carbonatitic melt and silicate melt
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- First application of scintillator-based photon-counting computed tomography to rock samples: Preliminary results and prospects
- GCDkit.Mineral: A customizable, platform-independent R-language environment for recalculation, plotting, and classification of electron probe microanalyses of common rock-forming minerals
- Apatite as an archive of pegmatite-forming processes: An example from the Berry-Havey pegmatite (Maine, U.S.A.)
- Re-examination of vesbine in vanadate-rich sublimate-related associations of Vesuvius (Italy): Mineralogical features and origin
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Articles in the same Issue
- Germanium distribution in Mississippi Valley-Type systems from sulfide deposition to oxidative weathering: A perspective from Fule Pb-Zn(-Ge) deposit, South China
- Characterization and potential toxicity of asbestiform erionite from Gawler Downs, New Zealand
- First widespread occurrence of rare phosphate chladniite in a meteorite, winonaite Graves Nunataks (GRA) 12510: Implications for phosphide–phosphate redox buffered genesis in meteorites
- K isotopic fractionation in K-feldspar: Effects of mineral chemistry
- Jarosite formation in Permian-Triassic strata at Xiakou (South China): Implications for jarosite precipitation from H2S upwelling on Mars
- The effect of A-site cations on charge-carrier mobility in Fe-rich amphiboles
- Calorimetry and structural analysis of uranyl sulfates with rare topologies
- Biological control of ultra-skeleton mineralization in coral
- Systematic study of high field strength elements during liquid immiscibility between carbonatitic melt and silicate melt
- Clustering and interfacial segregation of radiogenic Pb in a mineral host-inclusion system: Tracing two-stage Pb and trace element mobility in monazite inclusions in rutile
- First application of scintillator-based photon-counting computed tomography to rock samples: Preliminary results and prospects
- GCDkit.Mineral: A customizable, platform-independent R-language environment for recalculation, plotting, and classification of electron probe microanalyses of common rock-forming minerals
- Apatite as an archive of pegmatite-forming processes: An example from the Berry-Havey pegmatite (Maine, U.S.A.)
- Re-examination of vesbine in vanadate-rich sublimate-related associations of Vesuvius (Italy): Mineralogical features and origin
- Temperature and compositional dependences of H2O solubility in majorite
- Raman spectroscopy of the ilmenite–geikielite solid solution