M.Sc. / This dissertation deals with meteorites, but from a few different perspectives. As of 2000, there are 49 known meteorites that have been recovered from South Africa, including the new Merweville chondrite, which is first described and classified here. This represents only about 1.5% of worldwide falls and finds. Perhaps because of the relatively small number of specimens, and a possible resulting drop in interest amongst the scientific community, research on extant South African meteorites has declined in recent years. In this study, new results are presented for two South African meteorites, the Malvern howardite, and the newly recovered Merweville chondrite. In addition, South African public knowledge and awareness of meteorites and planetary sciences is discussed, and remedial recommendations are made. The Malvern howardite is a rare type of polymictbreccia. New petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies of clasts reveal an abundance of impact-melt clasts, with lesser amounts of cataclastic, granoblastic and metal and sulphide-rich clasts. The matrix of Malvern is dominated by comminuted pyroxene, very likely derived from mechanical degradation of pre-existing, pyroxene-richimpact-meltclasts. Chondritic clasts, including carbonaceous chondrites, have been reported in similar howardites (e.g. Washougal, Jodzie and Kapoeta); such clasts were searched for, but not found in our specimens of Malvern. To investigate the social impact of meteorite studies, a survey of Grade 11 and 12 pupils and first year university students in South Africa was undertaken to determine their level of literacy, interest and awareness of meteorites and planetary sciences. Students in Johannesburg and Cape Town were chosen to represent different societal sectors, including school students from disadvantaged and advantaged communities. The results indicate that learners with poor results in awareness and literacy are still very keen on the subject. The advantaged learners outperformed their disadvantaged colleagues in most categories, proving that the discrepancy between them is still a factor and should be dealt with, but only 20% of all students asked have visited a museum before. Based on these results, it is recommended that much more emphasis be put on science and technology in South African schools. Taking learners to science and natural history museums or associated institutions are also very important in generating interest.

abstract: Jupiter’s moon Europa is an active target of research because of its unique geology and its potential for habitability. Europa’s icy chaos disrupts and transforms the previous terrain, suggesting melting is involved. Chaos occurs alongside several types of endogenic surface features. These microfeatures are under <100 km2 in area and include uplifts and domes, pits, spots, and hybrid features. The distribution of microfeatures is known in the ~10% of the Europa’s surface that are covered by the regional mosaics (“RegMaps”). The efforts to connect microfeature formation to any kind of heat transport in Europa are confounded because microfeatures are difficult to identify outside of RegMaps because of low image resolutions. Finding microfeatures outside of RegMaps would provide new observational constraints for microfeature formation models. First, I mapped microfeatures across four of Europa’s RegMaps and validated them against other mapping datasets. Microchaos features are the most numerous, followed by pits, domes, then hybrids. Spots are the least common features, and the smallest. Next, I mapped features in low-resolution images that covered the E15RegMap01 area to determine error rates and sources of omission or misclassification for features mapped in low-resolution images. Of all features originally mapped in the RegMap, pits and domes were the least likely to be re-mapped or positively identified (24.2% and 5%, respectively). Chaos, spots, and hybrids were accurately classified over 70% of the time. Quantitatively classifying these features using discriminant function analysis yielded comparable values of accuracy when compared to a human mapper. Finally, nearest-neighbor clustering analyses were used to show that pits are clustered in all regions, while chaos, domes, and hybrids vary in terms of their spatial clustering. This work suggests that the most likely processes for microfeature formations is either the evolution of liquid water sills within Europa’s ice shell or cryovolcanism. Future work extending to more areas outside of the RegMaps can further refine microfeature formation models. The detection of liquid water at or near the surface is a major goal of multiple upcoming Europa missions; this work provides predictions that can be directly tested by these missions to maximize their scientific return. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2019

abstract: Water has shaped the surface of Mars, recording previous environments and inspiring the search for extinct life beyond Earth. While conditions on the Martian surface today are not conducive to the presence of liquid water, ancient erosional and depositional features indicate that this was not always so. Quantifying the regional and global history of water on Mars is crucial to understanding how the planet evolved, where to focus future exploration, and implications for water on Earth. Many sites on Mars contain layered sedimentary deposits, sinuous valleys with delta shaped deposits, and other indications of large lakes. The Hypanis deposit is a unique endmember in this set of locations as it appears to be the largest ancient river delta identified on the planet, and it appears to have no topographic boundary, implying deposition into a sea. I have used a variety of high-resolution remote sensing techniques and geologic mapping techniques to present a new model of past water activity in the region. I gathered new orbital observations and computed thermal inertia, albedo, elevation, and spectral properties of the Hypanis deposit. I measured the strike and dip of deposit layers to interpret the sedimentary history. My results indicate that Hypanis was formed in a large calm lacustrine setting. My geomorphic mapping of the deposit and catchment indicates buried volatile-rich sediments erupted through the Chryse basin fill, and may be geological young or ongoing. Collectively, my results complement previous studies that propose a global paleoshoreline, and support interpretations that Mars had an ocean early in its history. Future missions to the Martian surface should consider Hypanis as a high-value sampling opportunity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2019

abstract: Establishing the timing of impact crater formation is essential to exploring the relationship between bolide impact and biological evolution, and constraining the tempo of planetary surface evolution. Unfortunately, precise and accurate impact geochronology can be challenging. Many of the rock products of impact (impactites) contain relict, pre-impact phases that may have had their isotopic systematics completely reset during the impact event, only partially reset, or not reset at all. Of the many isotopic chronometers that have been used to date impactites, the U/Pb zircon chronometer (ZrnPb) seems least susceptible to post-impact disturbances, and ZrnPb dates are typically much more precise than those obtained using other chronometers. However, the ZrnPb system is so resistant to resetting that relict zircons in impactites often yield dates that reflect the igneous or metamorphic ages of the target rocks rather than the age of the impact itself. The present study was designed to answer a simple question: is there a straightforward sample collection and analysis strategy for high-accuracy ZrnPb dating of an impact structure if the impactites collected from it may contain inherited zircons? To study this, ZrnPb dates were determined for impactites from a single crater with a well-constrained impact age: the West Clearwater Lake impact structure, located at Lake Wiyâshâkimî, Québec, Canada. The amount of ZrnPb resetting and the mechanisms responsible for resetting varied amongst the samples. Each sample characteristically contained either: newly crystallized zircons from the impact melt ("neocrystalline"), relict zircons ~50-100% reset, or, relict zircons ~0-50% reset. The variably reset relict zircons define a discordia line from ~2700 Ma to ~286 Ma – consistent with the ages of the target rock and the impact, respectively (Schmieder et al., 2015a; Simard, 2004). ZrnPb measurements from the neocrystalline zircons provided a new preferred impact age of 286.64 ± 0.35 Ma (2σ), a ~10x improvement in precision. The characteristics of the West Clearwater ZrnPb data vary between samples yet become easily interpretable as a whole, showing that efforts to measure robust, precise impact ages benefit from strategies that prioritize applying multiple analytical techniques to multiple types of impactite from the same crater. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geological Sciences 2019

No description available.

Impact spherules are sand-sized spherical particles that have been interpreted to have formed by the cooling, crystallization, and quenching of melt droplets condensed from vapor plumes that are created during large meteor impacts. Spherules may be deposited globally as unique marker beds, such as at the K-Pg boundary. A minimum of 11 spherule beds have been identified in the Archean and Paleoproterozoic, and provide a record of impact events that predate any known craters. This study of 3.24 Ga impact spherules from the S3 spherule layer in the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB) in the Kaapvaal Craton of South Africa focuses on the heterogeneity of textures and geochemistry produced during the cooling and crystallization of spherules within a vapor plume. Type 4b spherules are layered phyllosilicate spherules with discrete differences in texture and composition between the inner and outer layer, even after alteration. Compositionally layered phyllosilicate spherules were analyzed using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) concentrations. Backscatter Electron (BSE) images and elemental X-ray maps indicate a range of compositional differences between the inner and outer layers of type 4b spherules. The majority of REE plots have nearly flat patterns, with little to no light to heavy REE fractionation; however, the outer layers consistently have higher concentrations, averaging about 10x chondritic, whereas the interiors are at or below chondritic levels with a mid-REE enrichment. The trace and REE patterns of the type 4b spherules are consistent with a more mafic inner layer and a more intermediate outer layer. Mechanisms to produce this layered texture may include: (1) accretion of less mafic material from the plume onto existing melt droplets as the plume continues to fractionate, (2) collision of melt droplets of different viscosities, (3) by differentiation within the melt droplet prior to crystallization, or (4) by diagenetic effects. Based on textures, such as distinct boundaries between layers, and compositional patterns, such as an enrichment of Ti and REE in the outer layer, the data best fits the particle collision formation mechanism hypothesis, which has important implications for impact plume studies, such as plume density, turbulence, temperature, and opacity. / Geology

Mechanically interacting fault systems on Earth are often associated with groundwater flow (e.g. Curewitz and Karson, 1997) by facilitating water storage and flow through fracture conduits before, during, and after seismic events (e.g. Sibson, 1975). Similar associations between interacting fault segments and fluid flow are present on Mars (Davatzes and Gulick, 2007a). The Cerberus Fossae compose a system of elongate topographic lows, a portion of which coincides with the source region of the outflow channel Athabasca Valles. The Cerberus Fossae and source area were mapped using Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) daytime IR mosaics and Context camera (CTX) images to establish spatial relations of structural features. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) elevation data were plotted to construct the depth profiles of the fossae to test the hypothesis that the Cerberus Fossae are normal fault-bounded graben. High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images were mapped for fractures within the fault damage zones with the degree of fracture plotted as a function of distance along strike. This plot established the spatial relations between fractures, mechanically interacting fossae segments, and Athabasca Valles. The depth profiles of the Cerberus Fossae are consistent with the displacement distribution of terrestrial normal faults with a surface expression consistent with fault propagation from depth and mechanical interaction among segments. Similarly, regions of interpreted mechanical interaction indicated by slip distribution and segment overlap correspond to increased fracture intensity and density. On Earth, such regions of mechanical interaction tend to have high fracture intensity (e.g. Davatzes et al., 2005), are associated with hydrothermal fluid flow (Curewitz and Karson, 1997), and have evidence of extensive long-term fluid flow as evidenced by diagenetic alterations (Eichhubl et al., 2004). Higher fracture intensities and densities near the head of Athabasca Valles as a proxy for increased permeability provide a potential mechanism and a necessary condition for the localized fluid flux necessary to supply the outflow channel. Thus, I conclude the Cerberus Fossae are mechanically interacting normal fault-bounded graben with highly permeable damage zones that would act to quickly dewater an aquifer resulting in the carving of Athabasca Valles. / Geology

Sur Terre, les régions périglaciaires ayant un pergélisol riche en glace peuvent enregistrer les changements climatiques globaux. Ce pergélisol contenant 50-80 % de glace en volume s'est formé lors des grandes périodes glaciaires du Pléistocène. Par la suite, ce pergélisol riche en glace a subi une dégradation intense lors de réchauffements climatiques globaux au début de la période interglaciaire de l'Holocène.La planète Mars comporte un pergélisol à l'échelle planétaire dont la formation serait associée à des changements climatiques globaux provoqués par des variations chaotiques de son orbite durant les derniers millions d'années. La région d'Utopia Planitia située dans les moyennes latitudes nord de Mars présente différents modelés de surface (“ scalloped depressions ”, polygones, cavités à la jonction des polygones) interprétés comme s'étant formés à partir d'un pergélisol contenant potentiellement une grande quantité de glace. De la même manière que sur Terre, ce pergélisol a pu enregistrer les derniers changements climatiques globaux survenus sur Mars.Cette thèse propose d'étudier comparativement l'impact des changements climatiques sur le paysage des régions périglaciaires sur Terre et sur Mars. Dans ce but, nous avons conduit des études sur le terrain des processus et des modelés périglaciaires en Yakoutie Centrale (Sibérie) et dans le delta du Mackenzie (Canada) associées à une étude géomorphologique à haute résolution des modelés d'Utopia Planitia.Notre étude montre que l'ensemble des modelés d'Utopia Planitia est similaire en morphologie, taille et association spatiale à celui de la Yakoutie Centrale et du delta du Mackenzie (lacs thermokarstiques, polygones, mares à la jonction des polygones) indiquant que la région présenterait un pergélisol riche en glace. Le pergélisol serait composé de sédiments stratifiés et dont l'âge de formation minimale est estimé entre ~ 5 et 100 Ma. Le pergélisol contiendrait un volume de glace important (≥ 50 % en volume) sur une épaisseur de ~ 70 m.De part ses caractéristiques, ce pergélisol aurait une origine syngénétique : sa formation serait le résultat d'une accumulation importante de sédiments au sein du bassin d'Utopia Planitia sous des conditions froides permettant le gel in-situ des sédiments. Les sédiments peuvent avoir été déposés par des vallées de débâcles provenant d'Elysium Mons et/ou par une activité éolienne importante. Par ailleurs, la formation synchrone d'une calotte de glace régionale près d'Utopia Planitia lors de périodes de moyenne obliquité (~ 35°) de Mars pourrait avoir induit un dépôt éolien préférentiel dans Utopia Planitia.Par la suite, le pergélisol riche en glace aurait subi une dégradation régionale importante entre ~ 5 et 10 Ma. Ce thermokarst aurait été déclenché par une insolation accrue lors de périodes de haute obliquité (~ 45°) de Mars. L'augmentation des températures aurait provoqué une déstabilisation thermique du pergélisol entraînant une sublimation de la glace, modifiant profondément le paysage de la région.Ainsi, les variations importantes de l'obliquité de Mars ont généré des changements climatiques globaux qui ont permis la formation et la dégradation du pergélisol riche en glace d'Utopia Planitia entre ~ 5 et 10 Ma. / On Earth, periglacial regions where an ice-rich permafrost is present provide a record of global climate changes. For example, the ice-rich permafrost (50-80 % of ice by volume) that occurs in Central Yakutia (Siberia) and in the Mackenzie River Delta (Canada) was formed during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene. This permafrost was subsequently degraded during global warming at the early Holocene interglacial period.Global and possibly ice-rich permafrost occurs on Mars as well. It is thought to be the product of obliquity-driven and relatively recent global climate change (i.e. dozens of Ma). Utopia Planitia, situated in the northern mid-latitudes, is dotted with possible periglacial landforms (scalloped depressions, polygons and polygon-junction pits) that could indicate the presence of an ice-rich permafrost. Similarly to Earth, this permafrost could be marker of recent global climate changes.This thesis focuses on the impact of global climate changes on the periglacial regions of Earth and Mars. With this aim in view, we conducted (i) field studies of the periglacial processes and landforms in the Central Yakutia (Siberia) and in the Mackenzie River Delta (Canada) and, (ii) a geomorphological study (based on high-resolution images) of the putative-periglacial landforms of Utopia Planitia.Our study shows that the assemblage of landforms in Utopia Planitia share traits of form, scale and spatial association with the landforms of the Central Yakutia and of the Mackenzie Delta (thermokarst lakes, polygons and polygon-junction ponds) indicating that Utopia Planitia has an ice-rich permafrost. The permafrost is composed of stratified sediments ~ 70 m thick with a high ice-content (possibly ≥ 50 % by volume).The permafrost appears to have a syngenetic origin: it was formed by an accumulation of sediments in the basin of Utopia Planitia under cold climate conditions that leaded to the in-situ freezing of the sediments. The sediments could have been deposited by outflow valleys from Elysium Mons and/or by an eolian activity. With regard to the latter, the synchronous formation of a possible regional ice-sheet near Utopia Planitia during medium-obliquity (~ 35°) periods of Mars could have induced a preferential eolian deposition in Utopia Planitia.Subsequently, the ice-rich permafrost was regionally degraded between ~ 5 and 10 Ma. The thermokarst was triggered by an increase of insolation during high-obliquity (~ 45°) periods of Mars. The increase of temperature caused the thermal destabilization of the permafrost inducing the sublimation of ground-ice, deeply modifying the landscape.Thus, important obliquity variations of Mars caused global climate changes that could have induced the formation and the degradation of the ice-rich permafrost of Utopia Planitia between ~ 5 and 10 Ma.

abstract: Biochemical reactions underlie all living processes. Their complex web of interactions is difficult to fully capture and quantify with simple mathematical objects. Applying network science to biology has advanced our understanding of the metabolisms of individual organisms and the organization of ecosystems, but has scarcely been applied to life at a planetary scale. To characterize planetary-scale biochemistry, I constructed biochemical networks using global databases of annotated genomes and metagenomes, and biochemical reactions. I uncover scaling laws governing biochemical diversity and network structure shared across levels of organization from individuals to ecosystems, to the biosphere as a whole. Comparing real biochemical reaction networks to random reaction networks reveals the observed biological scaling is not a product of chemistry alone, but instead emerges due to the particular structure of selected reactions commonly participating in living processes. I perform distinguishability tests across properties of individual and ecosystem-level biochemical networks to determine whether or not they share common structure, indicative of common generative mechanisms across levels. My results indicate there is no sharp transition in the organization of biochemistry across distinct levels of the biological hierarchy—a result that holds across different network projections. Finally, I leverage these large biochemical datasets, in conjunction with planetary observations and computational tools, to provide a methodological foundation for the quantitative assessment of biology’s viability amongst other geospheres. Investigating a case study of alkaliphilic prokaryotes in the context of Enceladus, I find that the chemical compounds observed on Enceladus thus far would be insufficient to allow even these extremophiles to produce the compounds necessary to sustain a viable metabolism. The environmental precursors required by these organisms provides a reference for the compounds which should be prioritized for detection in future planetary exploration missions. The results of this framework have further consequences in the context of planetary protection, and hint that forward contamination may prove infeasible without meticulous intent. Taken together these results point to a deeper level of organization in biochemical networks than what has been understood so far, and suggests the existence of common organizing principles operating across different levels of biology and planetary chemistry. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2018

D'importants dépôts de sulfates ont été découverts dans certaines régions équatoriales de Mars : les canyons de Valles Marineris, les terrains chaotiques, et les plaines de Meridiani. Afin d'expliquer la chimie de ces dépôts, ainsi que la formation d'un tel volume de sédiments de même composition, sur des surfaces aussi larges et variées, l'une des hypothèses les plus récentes suggère une origine glaciaire. Le but de cette thèse est d'évaluer la plausibilité de ce mode de formation, par une étude morphologique et minéralogique comparative des sulfates trouvés sur la calotte polaire Nord et sur les terrains chaotiques (Aram Chaos). L'analyse des sédiments superficiels de la calotte polaire montre que ceux-ci sont riches en gypse. Ces particules riches en sulfates proviennent directement de la calotte polaire, s'accumulent en surface par ablation de la glace, et sont transportées par le vent dans les dunes circum-polaires. L'analyse des affleurements observés à l'équateur sur Aram Chaos montre des dépôts stratifiés clairs, semblables à ceux de Valles Marineris et de Meridiani Planum ; ils contiennent un mélange de sulfates monohydratés, d'oxydes de fer et de minéraux hydratés. Ces dépôts pourraient également avoir une origine glaciaire car, durant les périodes de haute obliquité, d'anciennes accumulations de glace ont pu se former aux basses latitudes. De plus, l'observation d'analogues terrestres en Antarctique révèle que des sulfates se forment effectivement dans la glace par des réactions post-dépôt, et peuvent être compatibles avec la chimie des minéraux observés à l'équateur martien, si l'accumulation de la glace coïncide avec le dépôt de matériaux volcaniques.