Volcanic hydrothermal environments: Analog for Mars
Chase Glenister sampling hydrothermal waters at Hverir, Iceland
Hydrothermal environments were likely common on the Martian surface during its early history, when volcanic activity was vigorous and the planet had a more active hydrosphere. In fact, these warm, wet, habitable environments likely persisted in volcanically active areas on Mars long after the rest of the surface was too cold and dry. Deposits explored by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in the Columbia Hills provide a glimpse into one such location, and the search for potential terrestrial analogs for this site (and Mars hydrothermal sites in general) brought us to Lassen Volcanic National Park, Hawaii, and Iceland.
In northern Iceland, the volcanic hydrothermal areas at Hverir and Namafjall preserve different features reminiscent of the likely hydrothermal deposits in the Columbia Hills. The “alteration halo” around a Hverir fumarole may serve as an analog for acid-sulfate leaching, forming a silica-rich residual deposit with some sulfates, while the altered soils surrounding mud pots at Namafjall show interesting redox gradients in sulfur and iron bearing minerals. Lassen fumaroles and hot springs also provide an opportunity to contrast silica enrichment by precipitation (e.g. “sinter”) and silica enrichment by leaching (acid-leached deposits), along with the potential preservation of biosignatures.
Darian Dixon collecting a sample from a fumarole at Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lindsay McHenry collecting a hydrothermal fluid sample at Hverir, Iceland
Nancy Carman at the top of a stunning hot spring with a bright orange microbial mat at Lassen Volcanic National Park
Related references:
Carson, G.L., McHenry, L.J., Hynek, B.M., Cameron, B.I., Glenister, C.T., 2023. Mineralogy and bulk geochemistry of a fumarole at Hverir, Iceland: Analog for acid-sulfate leaching on Mars. American Mineralogist 108, 409-429. doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8363.
Carson, G.L., McHenry, L.J., Hynek, B.M., Cameron, B.I., Glenister, C.T., 2023. Mineralogy and geochemistry of hot spring deposits at Námafjall, Iceland: Analog for sulfate soils at Gusev crater, Mars. American Mineralogist 108, 637-652. doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8364.
McHenry, L.J., Carson, G.L., Dixon, D. T., Vickery, C.L., 2017. Secondary minerals associated with Lassen fumaroles and hot springs: Implications for martian hydrothermal deposits. American Mineralogist 102: 1418-1434. DOI: 10.2138/am-2017-5839
McHenry, L.J., Gerard, T.L., Walters, G.L., 2013. Lassen Volcanic Fumaroles and Hot Springs: Analog for Mars. Proceedings of the 23rd annual Wisconsin Space Conference, 10 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17307/wsc.v0i0.20