Recalibration of the Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam instrument with an expanded geochemical database

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Samuel M. Clegg
  • Roger C. Wiens
  • Ryan B. Anderson
  • Olivier Forni
  • Jeremie Lasue
  • Agnes Cousin
  • Valerie Payre
  • Tommy Boucher
  • M. Darby Dyar
  • Scott M. McLennan
  • Richard V. Morris
  • Trevor G. Graff
  • Stanley A. Mertzman
  • Bethany L. Ehlmann
  • Ines Belgacem
  • Horton Newsom
  • Ben C. Clark
  • Noureddine Melikechi
  • Alissa Mezzacappa
  • Rhonda E. Mclnroy
  • Ronald Martinez
  • Patrick Gasda
  • Olivier Gasnault
  • Sylvestre Maurice

The ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has obtained > 300,000 spectra of rock and soil analysis targets since landing at Gale Crater in 2012, and the, spectra represent perhaps the largest publicly-available LIBS datasets. The compositions of the major elements, reported as oxides (SiO2, TiO2, A1(2)O(3), FeOT, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O), have been re-calibrated using a laboratory LIBS instrument, Mars-like atmospheric conditions, and a much larger set of standards (408) that span a wider compositional range than previously employed. The new calibration uses a combination of partial least squares (PLS1) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) algorithms, together with a calibration transfer matrix to minimize differences between the conditions under which the standards were analyzed in the laboratory and the conditions on Mars. While the previous model provided good results in the compositional range near the average Mars surface composition, the new model fits the extreme compositions far better. Examples are given for plagioclase feldspars, where silicon was significantly over-estimated by the previous model, and for calcium-sulfate veins, where silicon compositions near zero were inaccurate. The uncertainties of major element abundances are described as a function of the abundances, and are overall significantly lower than the previous model, enabling important new geochemical interpretations of the data. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSpectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy
Volume129
Pages (from-to)64-85
Number of pages22
ISSN0584-8547
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2017

    Research areas

  • Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, ChemCam, Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity rover, Geochemistry, Partial least squares, Independent Components Analysis, INDEPENDENT COMPONENT ANALYSIS, EARTH-ELEMENT PATTERNS, GALE CRATER EVIDENCE, CRUSTAL EVOLUTION, SEDIMENTARY-ROCKS, YELLOWKNIFE BAY, CURIOSITY ROVER, CALIBRATION, REGRESSION, CHEMISTRY

ID: 317204389