Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Geoscience

First Committee Member

Arya Udry

Second Committee Member

Shichun Huang

Third Committee Member

Andrew Martin

Fourth Committee Member

Elisabeth Hausrath

Fifth Committee Member

Jason Steffen

Number of Pages

366

Abstract

Martian meteorites are the only samples currently available from Mars, making their study critical for understanding martian igneous processes. Despite extensive study over the last five decades, the formation (e.g., mantle sources, crystallization pressures), emplacement (e.g., intrusive versus extrusive), and shock histories of these rocks remain uncertain due to their innate lack of geologic context and limited petrologic tools calibrated for martian conditions. This dissertation analyzes a large suite of 22 igneous martian meteorites using complementary 2D and 3D analytical methods to better constrain the magmatic, emplacement, and shock processes responsible for their formation and ejection from Mars.

Chapters 2 and 3 focus on nakhlites, one of the main types of martian meteorites and the largest single-origin suite of rocks from Mars. In Chapter 2, I conducted a comprehensive petrologic study of the recently discovered nakhlite Northwest Africa (NWA) 13669 and found evidence for extensive magma storage and re-equilibration and that this meteorite likely represents a previously unsampled portion of the nakhlite igneous complex. In Chapter 3, I used X-ray computed tomography and 3D quantitative textural analyses of multiple nakhlites to show similar crystallization histories and that crystal settling and accumulation were dominant mechanisms at work during their solidification. These findings suggest intrusive environments may be more common for nakhlites and martian meteorites, overall.

Chapter 4 examines three previously unstudied poikilitic shergottites—NWA 13366, NWA 14673, and Plateau du Tademait 008—to investigate their petrogenesis and relationships to other shergottites. I found geochemical differences indicate these meteorites represent unique samples that experienced varying degrees of shock and likely originated from distinct temporal and spatial locations on Mars.

Chapter 5 evaluates the use of Raman and Attenuated Total Reflectance–Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to measure volatiles (e.g., CO₂ and H₂O) in martian melt inclusions for geobarometry. I found that, when prepared as standard petrographic thin sections, these methods are not applicable for volatile detection due to epoxy fluorescence and potential initial CO₂ and H₂O concentrations below detection limits.

Together, the findings of this dissertation provide new constraints on the magmatic processes, emplacement environments, and shock histories recorded by martian meteorites and help provide geological context for new martian meteorites and igneous rocks analyzed in situ on Mars by spacecraft.

Keywords

chassignite; emplacement; igneous petrology; martian meteorites; nakhlite; shergottite

Disciplines

Earth Sciences | Geology | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

File Format

PDF

File Size

17400 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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