The geology and mineralogy of Ritchey crater, Mars: Evidence for post-Noachian clay formation

Widespread detection of phyllosilicates (clay minerals) in Noachian (>3.5 Ga) terrains on Mars and their paucity in younger terrains have led to the hypothesis that Noachian conditions were more clement than the colder, drier conditions that have since followed. However, recent clay detections in several Hesperian impact craters suggest that fluvial transport and alteration were possible after the posited early era of phyllosilicate formation. Here we present evidence that rocks within Hesperian age Ritchey crater (28.5 degrees S, 51 degrees W) record a period of post-Noachian fluvial transport and in situ alteration. This resulted in the transport of clays from the crater wall to the crater floor and the formation of hydrated silica and Fe/Mg smectite in Ritchey's central uplift. Clay minerals associated with central uplifts are commonly interpreted to represent preexisting clays excavated from depth, potentially providing insight into older crustal clay-forming processes. Here we present detailed geomorphic and mineralogic maps and show that the clays in Ritchey's central peak formed after or as a direct result of the impact and are thus Hesperian or younger. Clays on the crater wall were either preexisting clays exposed by the impact or formed in situ through postimpact water-rock interaction. In either scenario, some of these clays were likely subsequently transported to the crater floor by fluvial-alluvial processes in a source-to-sink system. In this context, the hydrated phases in Ritchey indicate several different formation and transport mechanisms and provide further evidence that near-surface clay mineral formation, and thus habitable conditions, existed on Mars after the Noachian.