{"687373":{"#nid":"687373","#data":{"type":"event","title":"EAS Planetary \u0026 Astrobiology Seminar - Dr. Madison Turner","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the sedimentary rock record of Mars is an essential tool in understanding the planet\u2019s evolving climate. Mars\u2019 sedimentary record is broadly categorized into three units identified from orbit (the Clays, Laterally Continuous Sulfates, and Rhythmites) and hypothesized to span from warmer, wetter periods early in Mars\u2019 history (Clays), to colder, dryer ones (Rhythmites). However, this model for Mars\u2019 planetary evolution hosts many uncertainties around the post-3.5 Gyr portion of Mars\u2019 history where water was scare, but sedimentary rock formation persisted. Thus far, we have been unable to resolve the spatial and temporal shifts recorded within and between Mars\u2019 major geologic units. This limits our ability to distinguish between unidirectional and diachronous, localized transitions from warm and wet to cold and dry depositional environments. We address these unknowns by analyzing the post-3.5 Ga sedimentary record. We quantify Mars\u2019 sedimentary rock production by measuring regional deposit volumes and ages. Additionally, we test against different global formation hypotheses (e.g. ash, dust) using layer thickness trends and locations of sedimentary depocenters. Lastly, we calculate the detailed aggradation rate of deposits to better understand when Mars was actively producing sedimentary rocks, how that evolved over time, and how it relates back to Mars\u2019 climate and stratigraphic evolution. We found that Mars\u2019 global sedimentary record shows intra-regional, rather than global, trends in layer thickness, disfavoring global formation mechanisms despite globally consistent stratigraphy. Furthermore, we show that Mars\u2019 global stratigraphic transitions are diachronous. We also find evidence that aggradation during different time periods was relatively constant. Together, these data provide a time integrated view of the macrostratigraphy of Mars\u2019 young (post 3.5 Ga) sedimentary rocks.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the sedimentary rock record of Mars is an essential tool in understanding the planet\u2019s evolving climate. Mars\u2019 sedimentary record is broadly categorized into three units identified from orbit (the Clays, Laterally Continuous Sulfates, and Rhythmites) and hypothesized to span from warmer, wetter periods early in Mars\u2019 history (Clays), to colder, dryer ones (Rhythmites). However, this model for Mars\u2019 planetary evolution hosts many uncertainties around the post-3.5 Gyr portion of Mars\u2019 history where water was scare, but sedimentary rock formation persisted. Thus far, we have been unable to resolve the spatial and temporal shifts recorded within and between Mars\u2019 major geologic units. This limits our ability to distinguish between unidirectional and diachronous, localized transitions from warm and wet to cold and dry depositional environments. We address these unknowns by analyzing the post-3.5 Ga sedimentary record. We quantify Mars\u2019 sedimentary rock production by measuring regional deposit volumes and ages. Additionally, we test against different global formation hypotheses (e.g. ash, dust) using layer thickness trends and locations of sedimentary depocenters. Lastly, we calculate the detailed aggradation rate of deposits to better understand when Mars was actively producing sedimentary rocks, how that evolved over time, and how it relates back to Mars\u2019 climate and stratigraphic evolution. We found that Mars\u2019 global sedimentary record shows intra-regional, rather than global, trends in layer thickness, disfavoring global formation mechanisms despite globally consistent stratigraphy. Furthermore, we show that Mars\u2019 global stratigraphic transitions are diachronous. We also find evidence that aggradation during different time periods was relatively constant. Together, these data provide a time integrated view of the macrostratigraphy of Mars\u2019 young (post 3.5 Ga) sedimentary rocks.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Understanding Martian Macrostratigraphy"}],"uid":"36678","created_gmt":"2026-01-16 14:22:57","changed_gmt":"2026-01-16 15:25:04","author":"tbuchanan9","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-02-13T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-02-13T12:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-02-13T12:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-02-13 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-02-13 17:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-02-13 17:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"EST L1175","extras":[],"hg_media":{"679021":{"id":"679021","type":"image","title":"Turner\u0027s Headshot","body":null,"created":"1768577078","gmt_created":"2026-01-16 15:24:38","changed":"1768577078","gmt_changed":"2026-01-16 15:24:38","alt":"Turner\u0027s Headshot","file":{"fid":"263132","name":"Headshot---Turner.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/01\/16\/Headshot---Turner.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/01\/16\/Headshot---Turner.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1484219,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/01\/16\/Headshot---Turner.jpg?itok=queBWiom"}}},"media_ids":["679021"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/geosci.uchicago.edu\/people\/maddy-turner\/","title":""}],"groups":[{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"175623","name":"EAS Seminar"},{"id":"722","name":"Astrobiology"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}