Justin Filiberto

@planetaryrocks.bsky.social

1319 Followers 655 Following

Planetary petrologist studying the Earth, Mars, the Moon, Venus, and Mercury

Cartoon (not to scale) detailing the progressive alteration (left to right) of a basalt (grey) in contact with a Venus-atmosphere (yellow) based on experimental and geochemical modeling studies (Berger et al., 2019; Esvan et al., 2022; Filiberto and McCanta, 2024; Johnson and Fegley, 2002; McCanta et al., 2014; Radoman-Shaw et al., 2022; Santos et al., 2023; Semprich et al., 2020; Zhong et al., 2023; Zolotov, 2018). Labels (white boxes) shown between unaltered and altered basalt represent the regions, from top down, atmosphere (yellow), surface environment, basalt (grey). The increase in the alteration zone after experimentation (left to right) into the rock's interior is shown by the vertical white to grey gradation transition, which increases with alteration (labeled oxidation and cation mobility). Cation mobility based on diffusion coefficients experiments (e.g., D(Na) > D(Mg)) in basaltic samples reacting with a CO2 and SO2-bearing atmosphere (e.g., Reid et al., 2024) is shown in the left panel (in decreasing order of mobility: Na➔K➔Ca➔Fe➔Mg) by the dashed arrow moving towards the surface. In the right panel, white crystals at the surface environment represent Na-, K-, and/or Ca-sulfates. Black hexagons represent iron oxides – magnetite changing to hematite with progressive alteration (e.g., Knafelc et al., 2019). Iron oxides form on the surface and within the interior of a sample –along cracks and within crystal structures (e.g., Berger et al., 2019; Knafelc et al., 2019; Zhong et al., 2023). Arrows (dotted lines) point out the iron oxides forming within the sample. Specific details, including the exact minerals to form, and the alteration rate, are dependent on numerous factors as described in the text.
Bright colored trees with different colored crystals growing on them.
A small black and tan dog lays on a pile of pillows with her paws crossed.