Jarosite on Earth: A rare Martian mineral found in Antarctica

Jan 28, 2021 04:30 PM EST

Jarosite, a rare earth mineral found on Antarctic ice. According to Science Magazine, the discovery was made after drilling deep into the Antarctic ice.

“Mineral” is the name of the mineral, it is a sulfate of potassium and iron. It can be formed by both water and acidic conditions. These conditions are rarely found on mars, according to NASA. Jarosite was first discovered on Mars in 2004 by a rover called “opportunity”. Following that discovery, it was discovered in several other places on Mars.

Why is Jarosite Common on Mars?

Scientists have not yet determined why it is so common on the red planet. But one hypothesis believes that when the planet was covered with ice back millennials, sulfate, iron, and potassium may have been trapped in the form of dust. “Everything on Mars is covered in dust” says Giovanni Baccolo, the study’s author. But another uncertain fact about the theory is that dust and ice were never chemically known to form minerals. Even though the ice provided a suitable environment for dust transformation to the miner.

In a paper published in Nature Communication, the scientists reported that they hope to prove this theory from the grains of jarosite found in Antarctica ice. The discovery of the mine in Antarctica was unexpected for Baccolo and his crew. Science has said that jarosite is very rare, and on earth, it occurs in mineral wastes that have been exposed to water and air. The team found fragments of the miner buried in the ice core of 1,620 meters. The sums they found were minutes, less than grains of sand.

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What this finding means

The grains were examined with an electronic microscope, and it was discovered that the mineral was forming in pockets inside the ice. This may support the theory that the jarosite on mars was created in the same way. According to Megan Elwood Madden, geologist, on mars, the minerals form in “meter-thick deposits” that are not in scattered grains.

The minerals can form in dense deposits on mars as the planet is much dustier than Antarctica. So there are more raw materials that can form a jarosite. Baccolo said this was a step in connecting the environment on mars to Antarctica.

Jarosite

Jarosite is a mineral often found in an environment rich in sulfate and iron. Other groups of jarosite minerals include silver, lead, sodium, and ammonium among others. Other places where jarosite is found are in mineral waste and ore processing. In these places, they can succumb to other toxic elements such as lead and arsenic. They break down to release metals such as iron, potassium as well as hydrogen and sulfate ions. This can be a source of acid in flow systems. They are used in hydrometallurgy to control inconsistencies.

More about Jarosite

The name jarosite comes from the Spanish name of a yellow flower of the genus Cistus. The color of this flower and the color of the ore almost match. The miner was first described in 1852 by August Breithaupt. Jarosite is yellow to yellow-brown in color. It is brittle, hard, and has a crystal structure. It shows movement and sometimes ambiguity.

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