Brine driven destruction of clay minerals in Gale crater, Mars

This repository contains files and non-commercial software associated with the journal article \"Brine Driven Destruction of Clay Minerals in Gale Crater, Mars.\" The article presents mineralogical, geochemical, and sedimentological observations made by the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity in an area called Glen Torridon, Gale crater, Mars. Rocks exposed in Glen Torridon were deposited in a lake that occupied the floor of Gale crater about 3.5 billion years ago and are stratigraphic and depositional equivalents of rocks exposed ~ 400m away on Vera Rubin ridge. The mineralogy of rocks in these two areas are different despite forming in the same lake at the same time. Glen Torridon rocks contain about 30 wt % clay minerals and 2 wt % or less of the mineral hematite (an iron oxide). In contrast, Vera Rubin ridge rocks contain 5 to 13 wt % clay minerals, with larger quantities (between 9 and 16 wt %) of iron oxide and oxyhydroxide minerals. The observed differences in mineralogy ar...