Jarosite formation in deep Antarctic ice provides a window into acidic, water-limited weathering on Mars

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 436
• Main Authors: Baccolo, Giovanni, Delmonte, Barbara, Niles, P. B., Cibin, Giannantonio, Di Stefano, Elena, Hampai, Dariush, Keller, Lindsay, Maggi, Valter, Marcelli, Augusto, Michalski, Joseph, Snead, Christopher, Frezzotti, Massimo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19-01-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 147/135; 147/143; 704/445/125; 704/445/209; 704/445/330; 704/445/330/209; 704/445/845; Atmospheric aerosols; Chemical reactions; Cores; Crystallization; Crystals; Depth indicators; Domes; Dust; Eolian dust; Humanities and Social Sciences; Ice; Ice fields; Ice formation; Jarosite; Mars; Metamorphism; Meteorites; multidisciplinary; Planet formation; Polar environments; Potassium; Potassium sulfate; Relocation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sediments; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Weathering; Antarctica
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20705-z

Many interpretations have been proposed to explain the presence of jarosite within Martian surficial sediments, including the possibility that it precipitated within paleo-ice deposits owing to englacial weathering of dust. However, until now a similar geochemical process was not observed on Earth nor in other planetary settings. We report a multi-analytical indication of jarosite formation within deep ice. Below 1000 m depth, jarosite crystals adhering on residual silica-rich particles have been identified in the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica) and interpreted as products of weathering involving aeolian dust and acidic atmospheric aerosols. The progressive increase of ice metamorphism and re-crystallization with depth, favours the relocation and concentration of dust and the formation of acidic brines in isolated environments, allowing chemical reactions and mineral neo-formation to occur. This is the first described englacial diagenetic mechanism occurring in deep Antarctic ice and supports the ice-weathering model for jarosite formation on Mars, highlighting the geologic importance of paleo ice-related processes on this planet. Additional implications concern the preservation of dust-related signals in deep ice cores with respect to paleoclimatic reconstructions and the englacial history of meteorites from Antarctic blue ice fields.
The authors report in-situ formation of jarosite witin the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica) and show that this ferric-potassium sulfate mineral is present in ice deeper than 1000 meters and progressively increases with depth. This has implications for the presence and formation mechanisms of jarosite observed on Mars.