Geological Society of America

T203 Comparative Approaches to Studying Impact Ejecta Deposits and Volcanic Flows

Tuesday, 3 November 2015
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room 344

THE USE OF FIELD PORTABLE INSTRUMENTATION IN THE EXPLORATION OF VOLCANIC AND IMPACT TERRAINS

Paper number: T203-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM

Authors

Kelsey Young Presenting Author
University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD
Kelsey Young Presenting Author
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Jacob E. Bleacher
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
A. Deanne Rogers
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cynthia A. Evans
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Amy McAdam
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Gordon Osinski
University of Western Ontario, London, ON
W. Brent Garry
NASA, Greenbelt, MD
Lynn M. Carter
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Timothy Glotch
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Abstract

In situ geochemical technologies, while not as highly accurate as their laboratory counterparts, represent a valuable way to test geologic hypotheses real-time during a field campaign. Depending on the geologic context, there are a variety of ways to deploy these technologies in the field to address targeted science objectives. The RIS4E (Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science) SSERVI (Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute) team is deploying a variety of field portable instrumentation and conducting a series of tests in volcanic terrains to answer a wide array of geologic questions.

For the past 2 years, the RIS4E team has been field testing on the December 1974 lava flow at Kilauea Volcano, HI. Using a combination of handheld x-ray fluorescence (hXRF), field portable x-ray diffraction (XRD), multispectral imaging, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), we are investigating lava flow emplacement, interaction between the flow and the subsurface topography, formation of alteration coatings in an acid vog environment, and high spatial resolution mapping of key elements in a hydrothermal alteration setting.

Together, these technologies are capable of using varied approaches valuable in multiple geologic environments in planetary field geology. Though the RIS4E campaign focuses on volcanic environments, these same capabilities have direct applicability to impact terrains as well. They enable high spatial resolution mapping of key elements that could be used to explore and sample extensive impact melt and melt breccia environments as well as impact-induced hydrothermal deposits. In cases where samples are required for a specific purpose (i.e. samples of high K concentrations are required for future K-Ar or Ar-Ar dating) these instruments can assist the crew. All of these areas require extensive field and laboratory testing with which we can validate instrument suites and field protocols for instrument deployment.