More Spirit Blueberries

This is even more evidence that Gusev's lower strata are identical to Meridiani Planum's

   With my very early findings that spherules exist in Gusev as as well as Meridiani Planum, I hypothesized that the surface rocks and materials in Gusev might be substantially different from the lower strata.  It is my contention that the lower strata are identical to those in Meridiani Planum, or at least very much like them.  Why?

   Because to me, it appears that the surface of Gusev is relatively recent.  In other words, I feel that geological events have deposited this more recent material over the deeper marine strata that would show the same sorts of fossils and organisms that are present in Meridiani Planum, and were likely quite common over the surface of Mars when it had oceans and lakes.

   Evidence of this was slim at first, but spherules (which are mostly fossils of urchins, trilobites, and cystoids) appear in some of the images but are still far less common in Gusev.  But the conditions for their growth were present, even though the existing soil does not readily exhibit them.  But with the finding of "Pot Of Gold" and its associated blueberries, the nature of the area became more clear.  This new finding adds more evidence and supports my hypothesis that Gusev was once a salt sea, very similar to Meridiani Planum, but after it began to dry up, geological processes deposited large amounts of new material, perhaps through glacial action, which covered the lower strata.

   Look at these images from Sol 313, Spirit.  The first is a stereo view of the territory.  These images are not yet released (as of 29-Nov-2004) to the NASA/JPL website, but I expect that they soon will be.  Click the image for a stereo anaglyph (requires red/blue glasses).

   The rock at the top and left of the image shows spherules on stems.  To the top right, you can make out layering, identical to the structure of the sedimentary rocks found in Meridiani Planum.  This means numerous things.  First, shallow seas had to exist here to produce these specific rocks.  These are sedimentary rocks, formed in shallow water, and they have fossil spherules all through them, exactly as those found on the other side of the planet do.

   Second, the spherules are harder than the surrounding matrix rock, just as they are in Meridiani Planum.  Third, the stems are all aligned in a single direction- meaning that the force that created them was from that direction.  In Meridiani Planum, geysers are responsible for the formation of the stems, and we should expect that the same is true here in Gusev.  But we see very little evidence of geyser action in Gusev today.

   This is because the geysers are buried under the more recent soil and rocks that we see today, and only a trickle of water can seep to the surface.  The soil is still wet underground, but not as wet as the soil in Meridiani Planum.  Gusev is a dryer place than Meridiani Planum in all likelihood.

    Fourth, oceans had to cover much of the planet, and this indicates that the lowest lying areas of the planet should be loaded with the last of the larger organisms' fossils, as well as the greatest concentration of salts.  Valles Marineris is very likely one of the richest fossil beds because it would have been one of the last places to dry up.  But it should also be fantastically rich in salts and from the standpoint of industry would provide an excellent place to mine magnesium and manufacture sulfuric acid, an extremely important industrial chemical.

    On examining the maps and topography of the planet, I suspect that Tithonium Chasma should be an excellent survey site for any upcoming missions to Mars, with the specific goal of hunting for fossils and mineral resources.

    Here is a close up stereo view of the stems and the rock matrix they are emerging from.

    I have assembled color images of the area, limited by the filters that NASA selected.  These confirm sedimentary rocks and the overall conformity to the Meridiani geology.  Click the thumbnail images for larger views.

The center rock in this image is clearly sedimentary.  It shows aligned uniform layering and is identical in appearance to Meridiani Planum rocks.	The sedimentation patterns continue in this image.  The common origins of the rocks are supported by this data.	Finally, we can see that the rock emerging from under the sand is indeed a twin of the strata seen by Opportunity.  Clear sedimentation can be seen, along with the same texture.
	More image will be processed as they become available
This is the most dramatic of the pictures, showing the presence of fossil spherules in detail.  They are emerging from the right hand rocks, mostly near the top of the image.		This image was assembled from L4, L5, and L6- but left lighter for visibility purposes.