Lateral continuity of mineralogical and morphological contacts around mt . sharp : linking upcoming rover observations and orbital data

Introduction: Mt. Sharp in Gale crater is a ~5 km thick stratigraphic section, the lower portion of which includes a >200 m thick sequence of mudstones deposited in a lacustrine environment [1] that have been explored by the Curiosity rover. One of the most prominent features observed from orbit in Mt. Sharp is a dark section of strata (Fig. 1) previously mapped by [2] as the middle member of the lower formation of the Mt. Sharp group. This zone is underlain and superposed by lighter-toned strata. We use newly processed visible-near infrared CRISM spectral data to examine the mineralogy of these zones and the transitions between them in greater detail, with the goal of providing insight into whether these transititions are most consistent with diagenetic or primary depositional processes. Importantly, we demonstate that the tonal and mineralogical changes across these boundaries appear to be present throughout Mt. Sharp, thus they are likely to be traversed by the Curiosity rover in the future.