75 Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Volcanology Student Session (Posters)

GSA’s MGPV student representatives invite the division’s student population to present their research (oral or poster). We encourage abstracts from any subdiscipline within our respective fields with hopes of stimulating a multi-disciplinary, early career researcher (ECR) community within MGPV.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Using Weathered Basalts from Iceland to Study Maghemite Formation: Implications for Martian Surface Processes

Paper number: 75-17
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Iceland is used as a terrestrial analog for Martian geology research because its weathered material is more dependent on protolith mineralogy and chemistry, similar to Martian regolith. One weathered product commonly observed on Mars, yet rare on Earth, is maghemite. It is known to affect soil magnetization on Mars and has also been observed by remote sensing. Therefore, weathered products from Iceland containing maghemite can be used as a proxy to study Martian surface process.

The goal of this research is to identify factors potentially affecting maghemite formation on Earth. For this purpose, we compared weathered basalt samples with and without maghemite. We used approximately 800-year-old lava samples collected from two locations in the Reykjanes Peninsula within southwest Iceland. We created powdered samples selected from seemingly less weathered and more weathered basalts to compare mineralogical and chemical differences. Preliminary mineralogical data from powdered X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD) analyses indicate evidence of magnetite to maghemite transitions in samples from one locale but not the other, despite the similarity of their original mineral compositions.

The presence of maghemite in these samples is intriguing because there is not yet a consensus on the factors needed for its formation. This research aims to provide insight into the formation of maghemite in weathered basalts on Earth to potentially infer Martian surface processes. This poster will present preliminary data from mineralogical, chemical, and textural analyses of weathered and unweathered Icelandic basalts and how our findings can be applicable to Martian geology.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412415

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