High-pressure metamorphic mineralogy of the Martian crust with implications for density and seismic profiles

Abstract

Here, we calculate the mineralogy of the Martian lower crust and upper mantle as a function of pressure and temperature with depth using four bulk compositions (average crust, Gusev basalt, olivine-phyric shergottite, and primitive average mantle). We then use this mineralogy to extract rock properties such as density and seismic velocities, describe their changes with varying conditions and geotherms, and make predictions for the crust–mantle boundary.