title: Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars.
abstract: The landforms of northern Gale crater on Mars expose thick sequences of sedimentary rocks. Based on images obtained by the Curiosity rover, we interpret these outcrops as evidence for past fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments. Degradation of the crater wall and rim probably supplied these sediments, which advanced inward from the wall, infilling both the crater and an internal lake basin to a thickness of at least 75 meters. This intracrater lake system probably existed intermittently for thousands to millions of years, implying a relatively wet climate that supplied moisture to the crater rim and transported sediment via streams into the lake basin. The deposits in Gale crater were then exhumed, probably by wind-driven erosion, creating Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp).
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Grotzinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Malin Space Science Systems, Post Office Box 910148, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Malin
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schieber
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siebach
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Stack
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Vasavada
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Arvidson
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calef
authors.affiliation: Astrogeology Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Edgar
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Griffes
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kah
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes-Le Centre National de la Recherche, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6112 and Université de Nantes, 44322 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mangold
authors.affiliation: Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Minitti
authors.affiliation: Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palucis
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.affiliation: Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
authors.forename: R M E
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Yingst
authors.affiliation: Department of Space Sciences, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blaney
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
authors.forename: P
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authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crisp
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Université de Lyon, 69364 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dromart
authors.affiliation: Malin Space Science Systems, Post Office Box 910148, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Edgett
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ewing
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gellert
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hurowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kocurek
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahaffy
authors.affiliation: Malin Space Science Systems, Post Office Box 910148, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mischna
authors.affiliation: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ming
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Milliken
authors.affiliation: Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Newsom
authors.affiliation: LZ Technology, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oehler
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vaniman
authors.affiliation: Space Remote Sensing, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wiens
authors.affiliation: Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D049249:Exhumation; D060106:Lakes; D018535:Mars; D010163:Paleontology