Unravelling the true nature of Martian ‘lh’-kieserite

Description

The confirmed presence of hydrous sulfates on celestial bodies in our solar system such as Mars or the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn has been a hotly debated topic for several decades (recently e.g., Clark et al. 2005; Bishop et al. 2009; Noel et al. 2010). Especially Mg-sulfate hydrates, with the ability to change their hydration state based on local humidity and temperature, are regarded as one of the key components governing the water budget at equatorial latitudes on Mars (Milliken et al. 2007).
Furthermore, these and other sulfate compounds are supposed to play an important role on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, where their presence, possibly along with pressure-induced structural changes (e.g., Meusburger et al. 2020), influences thermodynamic equilibria leading to the presence of subsurface oceans, potentially even supporting life (Solomonidou et al. 2009).

Period	19 Sep 2023
Event title	MinWien2023
Event type	Conference
Location	Wien, AustriaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International