Properties of the hermean regolith: iii. disk-resolved vis-NIR reflectance spectra and implications for the abundance of iron

Disk-resolved reflectance spectra of the surface of Mercury (longitudes 240-300°), obtained in the visual (vis) and near-infrared (NIR) spectral region, are presented and analyzed. The observations were made at the 2.6-m Nordic Optical Telescope with the ALFOSC low-resolution spectrograph on 20 and 22 June 1999 in the wavelength range 520-970 nm with a footprint size of 700 km on the mid-disk of Mercury. A method which enables more accurate correction for telluric line absorptions and atmospheric extinction than that applied on previously published vis-NIR spectra of Mercury is introduced. The resulting reflectance spectra are remarkably linear, lack significant absorption features, and have optical slopes comparable to remotely sensed lunar pure anorthosites. The relation between spectral slope and photometric geometry found by Warell (2002, Icarus 156, 313-317) is confirmed and is explained as caused by strongly backscattering particles with embedded submicroscopic metallic iron in a mature regolith. With the theoretical maturation model of Hapke (2001, J. Geophys. Res. 106 (E5), 10039-10073) an abundance of 0.05-0.3 wt% submicroscopic metallic iron in the regolith for silicate grain sizes in the range 10-80 μm is determined, implying a ferrous iron content in mafic minerals intrinsically lower than that of the lunar highlands. A binary crustal composition model with anorthite linearly mixed with pyroxene provides better spectral fits than a pure anorthitic composition. Comparison with mature lunar pure anorthosite spectra yields a confident upper limit to the FeO content of 3 wt% under the assumption that the surfaces are similarly matured, but this figure probably represents a considerable overestimate. The average mercurian regolith does not seem to be substantially more weathered than the most mature lunar highland soils in terms of abundance of submicroscopic metallic iron, indicating that a steady-state maturation level has been reached. However, the strong relation between optical spectral slope and photometric geometry may imply that the majority of regolith particles are more fine-grained than their lunar counterparts and that the regolith is admixed with complex agglutinate weathering products which are more abundant and more transparent than those of the lunar highlands. This is consistent with more energetic impacts and a higher rate of impact melt production in an iron-poor regolith. An observed relation between the spectral slope and latitude provides evidence that the Ostwald ripening process may be operating at equatorial latitudes on Mercury.     

Properties of the Hermean regolith: IV. Photometric parameters of Mercury and the Moon contrasted with Hapke modelling

A comparison of the photometric properties of Mercury and the Moon is performed, based on their integral phase curves and disk-resolved image data of Mercury obtained with the Swedish Vacuum Solar Telescope. Proper absolute calibration of integral V-band magnitude observations reveals that the near-side of the Moon is 10-15% brighter than average Mercury, and 0-5% brighter for the “bolometric” wavelength range 400-1000 nm. As shown, this is supported by recent estimates of their geometric albedos. Hapke photometric parameters of their surfaces are derived from identical approaches, allowing a contrasting study between their surface properties to be performed. Compared to the average near-side Moon, Mercury has a slightly lower single-scattering albedo, an opposition surge with smaller width and of marginally smaller amplitude, and a somewhat smoother surface with similar porosity. The width of the lobes of the single-particle scattering function are smaller for Mercury, and the backward scattering anisotropy is stronger. In terms of the double Henyey-Greenstein b-c parameter plot, the scattering properties of an average particle on Mercury is closer to the properties of lunar maria than highlands, indicating a higher density of internal scatterers than that of lunar particles. The photometric roughness of Mercury is well constrained by the recent study of Mallama et al. (2002, Icarus 155, 253-264) to a value of about 8°, suggesting that the surfaces sampled by the highest phase angle observations (Borealis, Susei, and Sobkou Planitia) are lunar mare-like in their textural properties. However, Mariner 10 disk brightness profiles obtained at intermediate phase angles indicate a surface roughness of about twice this value. The photometric parameters of the Moon are more difficult to constrain due to limited phase angle coverage, but the best Hapke fits are provided by rather small surface roughnesses. Better-calibrated, multiple-wavelength observations of the integral and disk-resolved brightnesses of both bodies, and obtained at higher phase angle values in the case of the Moon, are urgently needed to arrive at a more consistent picture of the contrasting light scattering properties of their surfaces.     

The 0.7-5.3 μm IR spectra of Mercury and the Moon: Evidence for high-Ca clinopyroxene on Mercury

We present infrared spectra of Mercury and the Moon in the wavelength range 0.7-5.3 μm obtained with the SpeX spectrograph at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. The spectra were acquired from pole and terminator locations of Mercury's surface and of Mersenius C and the Copernicus central peak on the Moon. Spectra of both bodies were measured in close temporal succession and were reduced in the same manner with identical calibration stars to minimize differences in the reduction process. The Copernicus spectra display the expected absorption features due to mafic minerals in the near infrared and show spectral features in the SiO combination/overtone vibrational band region above 4 μm. The spectra of Mercury from longitude 170° and north and south mid-latitudes display a 1-μm absorption band indicative of high-Ca clinopyroxene, while a spectrum from longitude 260° and northern mid-latitudes does not. The Mercury spectra show a broad feature of low emittance over the full 3-5 μm thermal infrared region, but no narrow features in this spectral range. The longitude 260° spectrum shows excess thermal emission around 5 μm attributable to the existence of a thermal gradient in the insolated dayside regolith. The thermal-IR spectra suggest a significant difference in the compositional and/or structural properties of Mercury and the Moon that may be due to grain size, absorption coefficient, or the magnitude of near-surface thermal gradients. The results indicate that the composition of Mercury's surface is heterogeneous on regional scales, and that the near infrared wavelength range provides more discriminative information on the surface composition than the 2-4 μm region, where the solar reflected and thermally emitted radiation contribute approximately equally to the observed flux of these bodies.     

Space weathering and the interpretation of asteroid reflectance spectra

Lunar-style space weathering is well understood, but cannot be extended to asteroids in general. The two best studied Asteroids (433 Eros and 243 Ida) exhibit quite different space weathering styles, and neither exhibits lunar-style space weathering. It must be concluded that at this time the diversity and mechanisms of asteroid space weathering are poorly understood. This introduces a significant unconstrained variable into the problem of analyzing asteroid spectral data. The sensitivity of asteroid surface material characterizations to space weathering effects - whatever their nature - is strongly dependent upon the choice of remote sensing methodology. The effects of space weathering on some methodologies such as curve matching are potentially devastating and at the present time essentially unmitigated. On other methodologies such as parametric analysis (e.g., analyses based on band centers and band area ratios) the effects are minimal. By choosing the appropriate methodology(ies) applied to high quality spectral data, robust characterizations of asteroid surface mineralogy can be obtained almost irrespective of space weathering. This permits sophisticated assessments of the geologic history of the asteroid parent bodies and of their relationships to the meteorites. Investigations of the diversity of space weathering processes on asteroid surfaces should be a fruitful area for future efforts.     

Deconvolution of lunar olivine reflectance spectra: Implications for remote compositional assessment

Lunar olivines typically contain inclusions of Cr-spinel (chromite) that influence their measured optical properties. These altered optical properties complicate modeled predictions of olivine composition from reflectance spectra. Approaches developed for inclusion-free terrestrial olivine spectra must be modified to be applied to chromite-bearing lunar olivine spectra. We present a revised approach for predicting the compositions of chromite-bearing lunar olivines using the Modified Gaussian Model (MGM). The results of this revised approach for chromite-bearing lunar olivines are consistent with previous results for terrestrial olivine reflectance spectra, and successfully predict the olivine’s composition. These results are an important step in compositional assessment of remotely-sensed olivine spectra, and are essential to ongoing investigations of that topic. Our results are based on a limited set of available lunar olivine separates, and would be strengthened by the inclusion of additional compositions.     

A Hapke model implementation for compositional analysis of VNIR spectra of Mercury

An implementation of Hapke’s radiative transfer-based photometric model for light scattering in semi-transparent porous media is presented with special emphasis on the analysis of reflectance spectra of Mercury. The model allows intimate mixing of an arbitrary number of regolith components with varying modal abundances, modal chemistries and grain sizes, matured by microphase iron. Reflectance spectra of suites of silicates of varying grain sizes and chemistries are used to calculate the imaginary coefficient of the complex index of refraction as a function of chemistry, thus limiting the modeling effects of chemically atypical laboratory samples, and allowing controlled modeling of minerals with varying chemical compositions. The performance of the model in the visual to near-infrared wavelength range is evaluated for a range of chemically characterized silicate mixtures of terrestrial powders, meteorite powders, matured lunar return samples, and remotely sensed lunar spectra.     

Water sorption on martian regolith analogs: Thermodynamics and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The near-infrared reflectance spectra of the martian surface present strong absorption features attributed to hydration water present in the regolith. In order to characterize the relationships between this water and atmospheric vapor and decipher the physical state of water molecules in martian regolith analogs, we designed and built an experimental setup to measure near-IR reflectance spectra under martian atmospheric conditions. Six samples were studied that cover part of the diversity of Mars surface mineralogy: a hydrated ferric oxide (ferrihydrite), two igneous samples (volcanic tuff, and dunite sand), and three potential water rich soil materials (Mg-sulfate, smectite powder and a palagonitic soil, the JSC Mars-1 regolith stimulant). Sorption and desorption isotherms were measured at 243 K for water vapor pressure varying from 10⁻⁵ to ∼0.3 mbar (relative humidity: 10⁻⁴ to 75%). These measurements reveal a large diversity of behavior among the sample suite in terms of absolute amount of water adsorbed, shape of the isotherm and hysteresis between the adsorption and desorption branches. Simultaneous in situ spectroscopic observations permit a detailed analysis of the spectral signature of adsorbed water and also point to clear differences between the samples. Ferric (oxy)hydroxides like ferrihydrite or other phases present in palagonitic soils are very strong water adsorbent and may play an important role in the current martian water cycle by allowing large exchange of water between dust-covered regions and atmosphere at diurnal and seasonal scales.     

Laboratory studies into the effect of regolith on planetary X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

In the analysis of X-ray fluorescence spectra from planetary surfaces, it is traditionally assumed that the observed surface is a plane-parallel, smooth, and homogeneous medium. The spectral and spatial resolutions of the instruments that have been used to measure X-ray emission from planetary surfaces to date have been such that this has been a reasonable assumption, but a new generation of X-ray spectrometers will provide enhanced spectral and spatial resolutions when compared with previous instrumentation. In light of these improvements in performance, it is important to assess how the requirements on the methodology of analysis of spectra may change when the surface is considered as a regolith. At other wavelengths, varying physical properties of planetary regoliths, such as the packing density, are known to have an effect on the observed signal as a function of viewing geometry. In this paper, the results from laboratory X-ray fluorescence measurements of regolith analogue materials at different viewing geometries are presented. Characteristic properties of the regolith such as particle sizes and packing density are found to affect the measured elemental line ratios. A semiempirical function is introduced as a tool for fitting fluorescent line intensity dependences as a function of viewing geometry. The importance of the results is discussed and recommendations are made for the future analysis of planetary X-ray fluorescence data.     

The optical effects of small iron particles that darken but do not redden: Evidence of intense space weathering on Mercury

Submicroscopic iron particles larger than about 50 nm, infused throughout mineral grains or glasses, are abundant in planetary materials altered by their environment such as shocked meteorites and lunar agglutinate glasses. Such particles darken their host material but do not redden their spectra but to date there has been no theoretical treatment of their optical effects. Using Mie theory, we modify the Hapke (2001) radiative transfer model of the effects of space weathering to include these effects. Comparison with laboratory measurements shows that the new treatment reproduces the relationship between submicroscopic iron size, abundance and reflectance. We apply this new model to near-IR spectra of Mercury recently obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft and find that submicroscopic iron is much more abundant on Mercury than in lunar soils, with typical total submicroscopic iron abundances near 3.5 wt.% compared to about 0.5 wt.% for lunar soils We also find that the ratio of iron particles that darken but do not redden to the abundance of very small iron particles that impart the red slope to space weathered material is much larger than lunar (6 vs. 2). Both the total submicroscopic iron abundance and ratio of particle size fractions are consistent with the higher production of melt and vapor in micrometeorite impact on Mercury relative to the Moon (Cintala, 1992) that enables more accumulation of space weathering products before sequestration by regolith overturn. The radiative transfer model cannot directly constrain the abundance of opaque minerals on Mercury because of ambiguities between the darkening effects of opaques and submicroscopic iron particles larger than 50 nm, but assuming the opaques are the ultimate source of the submicroscopic iron, our results place a lower limit of 4-20 wt.% on opaque abundance on Mercury depending on the composition of the opaque phase and whether titanium metal also contributes to the space weathering effect.     

Spectral characteristics of rocks: Effects of composition and texture and implications for the interpretation of planet surface compositions

In spectroscopic remote sensing for the exploration of the surface compositions of Earth and terrestrial planets, reflectance spectra with very low spectral contrast and even devoid of diagnostic absorption bands can be observed, which make the interpretation of the component minerals ambiguous. Using selected examples of terrestrial rock samples from intrusive and effusive geologic systems, we discuss compositional and textural properties related to these particular spectral shapes. We show that: (1) this spectral behaviour is common for coarse grains of multimineral rocks, where the optical coupling is expected to occur between welded mineral particles; (2) it is emphasised by the presence of opaque minerals with various compositions, such as ulvospinel, magnetite and chromite in effusive rock groundmass and in intrusive rocks; (3) it is controlled by the number of silicate phases within which the FeO is distributed, irrespective of the total iron content in the rock: a rock composition with a high number of iron-bearing minerals producing this kind of low contrast, almost featureless spectra is indicated here as “critical mode”; (4) it is also strongly intensified by aqueous alteration of silicates.These observations suggest unpredictable combinations of several different petrographic variables affecting the spectra of some compact rocks, and stimulate both targeted studies to quantitatively relate spectral and petrographic parameters, and the development of appropriate methods of spectral decomposition. Our ongoing work is at present focused on the spectroscopic effects of the FeO concentration in transparent neutral plagioclase, the different compositions of the opaque neutral minerals, and the iron bearing amorphous phases.We also discuss the analogy between the rocks used in the analysis reported here and the crustal rock compositions observed on Mars and inferred for Mercury as well as the compatibility of the factors responsible for the low spectral contrast of terrestrial rock samples with the factors expected for the two planets. We observe that a coarse-grained surface and a composition approaching a critical mode could explain the featureless Acidalia spectra on Mars, and suggest that the still open questions about Mercury’s surface regolith characteristics and composition do not exclude a priori the contribution of some of the factors examined in this paper to the peculiar surface properties of this planet.     

Midinfrared spectra and optical constants of bulk hematite: Comparison with particulate hematite spectra

Hematite is an iron oxide that is very important for the study of climatic evolution of Mars. It can occur in three forms: nanophase (dark purple), fine-grained (red) and coarse-grained (gray).In a previous work, we studied the influence of particle size and shape on the infrared spectra (in the wavelength range 6.25-50 μm) of submicron red hematite particles and found that bulk optical constants did not fit the spectra of very fine particles with several classes of models.In the present paper, we derive bulk optical constants of a sample of the same parent material of hematite already used in a previous work in order to determine the particulate optical constants. As a first result we find that, also in this case, bulk and particulate optical constants are different from each other. Furthermore, we show that these bulk optical constants, although derived starting from the same parent material of hematite and used with a model adopting the laboratory measured grain size distribution of the sample, cannot be used to reproduce the spectra of submicron particles. Our results can help the scientific community to appropriately model the contribution of hematite submicron grains to the martian dust for a better understanding of the geologic evolution of the planet.     

Minerals mapping of the lunar surface with Clementine UVVIS/NIR data based on spectra unmixing method and Hapke model

The distribution of minerals on the lunar surface is information which could contribute to studying lunar origin and evolution. In this paper, the distribution of clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine, ilmenite, and plagioclase on the lunar surface has been mapped based on Hapke radiative transfer model and linear unmixing of spectra with Clementine UVVIS/NIR data. The results have been validated on the basis of minerals modal abundance data of the Apollo samples, and problems in the minerals abundance mapping have been analyzed. The validation based on analysis data of Apollo samples indicates that plagioclase mapped in this paper represents the total abundance of plagioclase and agglutinitic glass. The minerals mapping results show that the lunar surface is mainly composed of pyroxene, plagioclase, agglutinitic glass, and ilmenite. Basalt in the lunar mare is mainly composed of clinopyroxene and ilmenite, and lunar highland is mainly composed of plagioclase and agglutinitic glass. Orthopyroxene is mainly distributed on the north of Mare Imbrium, on the south of Maria and Aitken Basin. According to our results, there is probably no large area of olivine distribution on the lunar surface which is different from earlier published results. Therefore, emphasis should be put on the olivine distribution in the minerals mapping using hyperspectral data such as M³ of Chandrayaan-1 and IIM of ChangE-1.     

Spectral reflectance properties of carbonaceous chondrites: 2. CM chondrites

We have examined the spectral reflectance properties and available modal mineralogies of 39 CM carbonaceous chondrites to determine their range of spectral variability and to diagnose their spectral features. We have also reviewed the published literature on CM mineralogy and subclassification, surveyed the published spectral literature and added new measurements of CM chondrites and relevant end members and mineral mixtures, and measured 11 parameters and searched pair-wise for correlations between all quantities. CM spectra are characterized by overall slopes that can range from modestly blue-sloped to red-sloped, with brighter spectra being generally more red-sloped. Spectral slopes, as measured by the 2.4:0.56 μm and 2.4 μm:visible region peak reflectance ratios, range from 0.90 to 2.32, and 0.81 to 2.24, respectively, with values <1 indicating blue-sloped spectra. Matrix-enriched CM spectra can be even more blue-sloped than bulk samples, with ratios as low as 0.85. There is no apparent correlation between spectral slope and grain size for CM chondrite spectra - both fine-grained powders and chips can exhibit blue-sloped spectra. Maximum reflectance across the 0.3-2.5 μm interval ranges from 2.9% to 20.0%, and from 2.8% to 14.0% at 0.56 μm. Matrix-enriched CM spectra can be darker than bulk samples, with maximum reflectance as low as 2.1%. CM spectra exhibit nearly ubiquitous absorption bands near 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1 μm, with depths up to 12%, and, less commonly, absorption bands in other wavelength regions (e.g., 0.4-0.5, 0.65, 2.2 μm). The depths of the 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1 μm absorption features vary largely in tandem, suggesting a single cause, specifically serpentine-group phyllosilicates. The generally high Fe content, high phyllosilicate abundance relative to mafic silicates, and dual Fe valence state in CM phyllosilicates, all suggest that the phyllosilicates will exhibit strong absorption bands in the 0.7 μm region (due to Fe³⁺-Fe²⁺ charge transfers), and the 0.9-1.2 μm region (due to Fe²⁺ crystal field transitions), and generally dominate over mafic silicates. CM petrologic subtypes exhibit a positive correlation between degree of aqueous alteration and depth of the 0.7 μm absorption band. This is consistent with the decrease in fine-grained opaques that accompanies aqueous alteration. There is no consistent relationship between degree of aqueous alteration and evidence for a 0.65 μm region saponite-group phyllosilicate absorption band. Spectra of different subsamples of a single CM can show large variations in absolute reflectance and overall slope. This is probably due to petrologic variations that likely exist within a single CM chondrite, as duplicate spectra for a single subsample show much less spectral variability. When the full suite of available CM spectra is considered, few clear spectral-compositional trends emerge. This indicates that multiple compositional and physical factors affect absolute reflectance, absorption band depths, and absorption band wavelength positions. Asteroids with reflectance spectra that exhibit absorption features consistent with CM spectra (i.e., absorption bands near 0.7 and 0.9 μm) include members from multiple taxonomic groups. This suggests that on CM parent bodies, aqueous alteration resulted in the consistent production of serpentine-group phyllosilicates, however resulting absolute reflectances and spectral shapes seen in CM reflectance spectra are highly variable, accounting for the presence of phyllosilicate features in reflectance spectra of asteroids across diverse taxonomic groups.     

Near-infrared laboratory spectra of solid H2O/CO2 and CH3OH/CO2 ice mixtures

We present near-IR spectra of solid CO₂ in H₂O and CH₃OH, and find they are significantly different from that of pure solid CO₂. Peaks not present in either pure H₂O or pure CO₂ spectra become evident when the two are mixed. First, the putative theoretically forbidden CO₂ (2ν₃) overtone near 2.134 μm (4685 cm⁻¹), that is absent from our spectrum of pure solid CO₂, is prominent in the spectra of H₂O/CO₂=5 and 25 mixtures. Second, a 2.74-μm (3650 cm⁻¹) dangling OH feature of H₂O (and a potentially related peak at 1.89 μm) appear in the spectra of CO₂-H₂O ice mixtures, but are probably not diagnostic of the presence of CO₂. Other CO₂ peaks display shifts in position and increased width because of intermolecular interactions with H₂O. Warming causes some peak positions and profiles in the spectrum of a H₂O/CO₂=5 mixture to take on the appearance of pure CO₂. Absolute strengths for absorptions of CO₂ in solid H₂O are estimated. Similar results are observed for CO₂ in solid CH₃OH. Since the CO₂ (2ν₃) overtone near 2.134 μm (4685 cm⁻¹) is not present in pure CO₂ but prominent in mixtures, it may be a good observational (spectral) indicator of whether solid CO₂ is a pure material or intimately mixed with other molecules. These observations may be applicable to Mars polar caps as well as outer Solar System bodies.     

Spectral reflectance properties of carbonaceous chondrites: 1. CI chondrites

Existing reflectance spectra of CI chondrites (18 spectra of 3 CIs) have been augmented with new (18 spectra of 2 CIs) reflectance spectra to ascertain the spectral variability of this meteorite class and provide insights into their spectral properties as a function of grain size, composition, particle packing, and viewing geometry. Particle packing and viewing geometry effects have not previously been examined for CI chondrites. The current analysis is focused on the 0.3-2.5 μm interval, as this region is available for the largest number of CI spectra. Reflectance spectra of powdered CI1 chondrites are uniformly dark (<10% maximum reflectance) but otherwise exhibit a high degree of spectral variability. Overall spectral slopes range from red (increasing reflectance with increasing wavelength) to blue (decreasing reflectance with increasing wavelength). A number of the CI spectra exhibit weak (<5% deep) absorption bands that can be attributed to both phyllosilicates and magnetite. Very weak absorption bands attributable to other CI phases, such as carbonates, sulfates, and organic matter may be present in one or a few spectra, but their identification is not robust. We found that darker spectra are generally correlated with bluer spectral slopes: a behavior most consistent with an increasing abundance of fine-grained magnetite and/or insoluble organic material (IOM), as no other CI opaque phase appears able to produce concurrent darkening and bluing. Magnetite can also explain the presence of an absorption feature near 1 μm in some CI spectra. The most blue-sloped spectra are generally associated with the larger grain size samples. For incidence and emission angles <60°, increasing phase angle results in darker and redder spectra, particularly below ∼1 μm. At high incidence angles (60°), increasing emission angle results in brighter and redder spectra. More densely packed samples and underdense (fluffed) samples show lower overall reflectance than normally packed and flat-surface powdered samples. Some B-class asteroids exhibit selected spectral properties consistent with CI chondrites, although perfect spectral matches have not been found. Because many CI chondrite spectra exhibit absorption features that can be related to specific mineral phases, the search for CI parent bodies can fruitfully be conducted using such parameters.     

Quantitative compositional analysis of martian mafic regions using the MEx/OMEGA reflectance data 1. Methodology, uncertainties and examples of application

The Mars Express Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) collected an unprecedented visible and near-infrared hyperspectral dataset covering the low albedo regions of Mars. We investigate the ability to infer modal abundance of surfaces of these regions from a radiative transfer model developed by Shkuratov et al. [Shkuratov, Y., Starukhina, L., Hoffmann, H., Arnold, G., 1999. Icarus 137, 235-246] and adapted to basaltic surfaces by Poulet and Erard [Poulet F., Erard, S., 2004. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (E2), doi:10.1029/2003JE002179]. From OMEGA measurements of mafic surfaces, we develop several sensitivity tests to assess the extent to which the model can be applied to predict pyroxene composition (high-calcium phase and low-calcium phase), abundance of almost neutral components (plagioclase) in the near-infrared wavelength as well as grain sizes, by using a library of selected end-members. Results of the sensitivity tests indicate that the scattering model can estimate both abundances and grain sizes of major basaltic materials of low albedo regions within uncertainties (±5 to 15 vol%). The model is then applied to data from dissected cratered terrains located in Terra Meridiani. The derived grain size including uncertainties is in the 50-500 μm range. This is consistent with the thermal inertia and albedo of this region, which indicates a fine sand-sized surface with little dust. The abundances of plagioclase (43-57%) and pyroxenes (35-45±10%, including 11±5% of low-calcium phase) are in good agreement with previous basalt-like compositions of low albedo regions from thermal infrared spectral measurements. The method presented in this paper will provide a valuable tool for evaluating the modal mineralogy of other mafic regions of Mars observed in the near-infrared wavelength range.     

Quantified mineralogical evidence for a common origin of 1929 Kollaa with 4 Vesta and the HED meteorites

In this paper, we present the first correlation of derived mineral abundances of V-class Asteroid 1929 Kollaa, 4 Vesta, and the HED meteorites. We demonstrate that 1929 Kollaa has a basaltic composition consistent with an origin within the crustal layer of 4 Vesta, and show a plausible genetic connection between Kollaa and the cumulate eucrite meteorites. These data support the proposed delivery mechanism of HED meteorites to the Earth from Vesta, and provide the first mineralogical constraint derived from the observation of a small V-class, Vesta family asteroid on the crustal thickness of 4 Vesta.     

Photometry of pluto in the last decade and before: evidence for volatile transport?

Photometric observations of Pluto in the BVR filter system were obtained in 1999 and in 1990-1993, and observations in the 0.89-μm methane absorption band were obtained in 2000. Our 1999 observations yield lightcurve amplitudes of 0.30 ± 0.01, 0.26 ± 0.01, and 0.21 ± 0.02 and geometric albedos of 0.44 ± 0.04, 0.52 ± 0.03, and 0.58 ± 0.02 in the B, V, and R filters, respectively. The low-albedo hemisphere of Pluto is slightly redder than the higher albedo hemisphere. A comparison of our results and those from previous epochs shows that the lightcurve of Pluto changes substantially through time. We developed a model that fully accounts for changes in the lightcurve caused by changes in the viewing geometry between the Earth, Pluto, and the Sun. We find that the observed changes in the amplitude of Pluto’s lightcurve can be explained by viewing geometry rather than by volatile transport. We also discovered a measurable decrease since 1992 of ∼0.03 magnitudes in the amplitude of Pluto’s lightcurve, as the model predicts. Pluto’s geometric albedo does not appear to be currently increasing, as our model predicts, although given the uncertainties in both the model and the measurements of geometric albedo, this result is not firm evidence for volatile transport. The maximum of methane-absorption lightcurve occurs near the minimum of the BVR lightcurves. This result suggests that methane is more abundant in the brightest regions of Pluto. Pluto’s phase coefficient exhibits a color dependence, ranging from 0.037 ± 0.01 in the B filter to 0.032 ± 0.01 in the R filter. Pluto’s phase curve is most like those of the bright, recently resurfaced satellites Triton and Europa. Although Pluto shows no strong evidence for volatile transport now (unlike Triton), it is important to continue to observe Pluto as it moves away from perihelion.     

IRTF spectra for 17 asteroids from the C and X complexes: A discussion of continuum slopes and their relationships to C chondrites and phyllosilicates

In order to gain further insight into their surface compositions and relationships with meteorites, we have obtained spectra for 17 C and X complex asteroids using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and SpeX infrared spectrometer. We augment these spectra with data in the visible region taken from the on-line databases. Only one of the 17 asteroids showed the three features usually associated with water, the UV slope, a 0.7 μm feature and a 3 μm feature, while five show no evidence for water and 11 had one or two of these features. According to DeMeo et al. (2009), whose asteroid classification scheme we use here, 88% of the variance in asteroid spectra is explained by continuum slope so that asteroids can also be characterized by the slopes of their continua. We thus plot the slope of the continuum between 1.8 and 2.5 μm against slope between 1.0 and 1.75 μm, the break at ∼1.8 μm chosen since phyllosilicates show numerous water-related features beyond this wavelength. On such plots, the C complex fields match those of phyllosilicates kaolinite and montmorillonite that have been heated to about 700 °C, while the X complex fields match the fields for phyllosilicates montmorillonite and serpentine that have been similarly heated. We thus suggest that the surface of the C complex asteroids consist of decomposition products of kaolinite or montmorillonite while for the X complex we suggest that surfaces consist of decomposition products of montmorillonite or serpentine. On the basis of overlapping in fields on the continuum plots we suggest that the CI chondrites are linked with the Cgh asteroids, individual CV and CR chondrites are linked with Xc asteroids, a CK chondrite is linked with the Ch or Cgh asteroids, a number of unusual CI/CM meteorites are linked with C asteroids, and the CM chondrites are linked with the Xk asteroids. The associations are in reasonable agreement with chondrite mineralogy and albedo data.     

Estimating the water content of hydrated minerals using reflectance spectroscopy: I. Effects of darkening agents and low-albedo materials

The apparent strength of absorptions due to H₂O near 1.9 and 3 μm in reflectance spectra is strongly affected by sample albedo. This study uses experimental and analytical approaches to quantify the effects of albedo on estimating the water content of hydrated minerals using various band parameters. We compare spectral band parameters for a series of low-albedo physical and numerical mixtures to measured water contents. Physical experiments consist of montmorillonite, clinoptilolite, and palagonite mixed with lesser amounts of carbon black and ilmenite, whereas numerical mixtures are composed of these host minerals mixed with a material of constant, low albedo. We find the effective single-particle absorption-thickness parameter provides the best correlation to water content, independent of composition and albedo, when derived from continuum-removed single scattering albedo spectra. Uncertainties in estimated water content are on the order of ±1 wt% using this method. The normalized optical path length parameter provides the best correlation to water content when using reflectance spectra, yielding estimates within ±1.6 wt% H₂O. The accuracy of these models is related to the physical nature of the darkening material. Scattering and absorption efficiencies are easier to model for intimate mixtures containing relatively large, dark grains than mixtures dominated by coatings of a fine-grained, strongly absorbing material. This suggests the physical properties that give rise to the albedo of a material are an important factor for accurate estimates of absolute water content.