title: A record of igneous evolution in Elysium, a major martian volcanic province.
abstract: A major knowledge gap exists on how eruptive compositions of a single martian volcanic province change over time. Here we seek to fill that gap by assessing the compositional evolution of Elysium, a major martian volcanic province. A unique geochemical signature overlaps with the southeastern flows of this volcano, which provides the context for this study of variability of martian magmatism. The southeastern lava fields of Elysium Planitia show distinct chemistry in the shallow subsurface (down to several decimeters) relative to the rest of the martian mid-to-low latitudes (average crust) and flows in northwest Elysium. By impact crater counting chronology we estimated the age of the southeastern province to be 0.85 ± 0.08 Ga younger than the northwestern fields. This study of the geochemical and temporal differences between the NW and SE Elysium lava fields is the first to demonstrate compositional variation within a single volcanic province on Mars. We interpret the geochemical and temporal differences between the SE and NW lava fields to be consistent with primary magmatic processes, such as mantle heterogeneity or change in depth of melt formation within the martian mantle due to crustal loading.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Susko
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Suniti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karunatillake
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences &Technology, University of Rahuna, Matara, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Gayantha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kodikara
authors.affiliation: SETI Institute, California, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Skok
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.affiliation: NASA Ames, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heldmann
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cousin
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Taylor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Judice