Clay on Mars

Javier Cuadros is a clay geochemist at the Natural History Museum in London. He has 30+ years of experience in the field and has published 100+ peer-reviewed articles in international journals covering clay crystal-chemistry, transformation and reactivity of clays, adsorption of inorganic and organic species, spectroscopy of clays, interaction of clays with microorganisms and plants, and ~20 articles on clay on Mars. He co-edited and co-authored the book “Interstratified Clay Minerals: Origin, Characterization and Geochemical Significance” published by AIPEA (International Association for the Study of Clays) in 2010. He was recognized by the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland as the 12th George Brown Lecturer in 2011. He taught courses organized by AIPEA and the Russian Clay Group. He is presently Associated Editor of Clay Minerals and has edited special collections or issues for several journals, including “Earth Analogs for Martian Geological Materials and Processes” for American Mineralogist (2017-2019).

• 1. Introduction to Mars2. Geologic context of clays on Mars3. Remote sensing instruments used in the investigation of clays on Mars4. In situ analysis from probes and rovers5. Lithologic and textural context of clays inferred from remote sensing6. Clay stratigraphy7. Clays from impact craters8. Clays from lakes and seas9. Clays of apparent hydrothermal origin.10. Surface alteration. Possible origins of proto-clays11. Diagenesis and burial12. Mixed-layered clay minerals on Mars13. Clays in martian meteorites14. Clays and Martian astrobiology15. Clays and natural resources for human missions on Mars16. Future directions