Mars - presence of sulfurous deposits and basaltic sand in Becquerel Crater .

The German Aerospace Center - Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt , DLR - published images of Becquerel crater , taken by the HRSC camera on board Mars Express spacecraft of ESA.

Mars - a mountain of sulfur deposits in the crater Becquerel - doc . ESA / DLR / FU Berlin ( G.Neukum )

            Mars - overhead view of the crater Becquerel - doc . ESA / DLR / FU Berlin ( G.Neukum )

The crater Becquerel is located in the Arabia Terra region , marking the transition between Martian Highlands and the  lowlands of the north.

doc . ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G.Neukum)

It has a diameter of 167 km ., and a depth of nearly 4,000 meters. It is named after the French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) , awarded, with Pierre and Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize in 1903 for the discovery of radioactivity .

Becquerel crater includes a mountain of 1,000 meters high , the slopes gently tilt and flat top , made of layers of sulfur deposits. It is believed that these sediments were formed by interaction between an emerging groundwater in low-lying areas such as impact craters , and dust carried by the winds , possibly in conjunction with deposits of ash. The sequence of layers could trace the seasonal variations in climate and its changes over longer periods of time, caused by periodic variations in the axis of rotation of the planet Mars. Similar deposits are present on the Gale crater , which landed August 6, 2012 the Curiosity rover of NASA . Research carried out by the robot may improve knowledge in this field.

The sediments have been eroded over time , it is possible that all the Becquerel crater was covered by these sulfourous sediments,  disintegratable and windswept during an exhibition that lasted more than three billion years.

           Mars - aeolian deposits in the crater Becquerel - doc . ESA / DLR / FU Berlin ( G.Neukum )

The black areas on the images are surfaces covered with a layer of basaltic sand, probably from volcanic ash and sand fields present in various locations on Mars.

Mars - Arabia dunes - one of the oldest land on Mars - anonimous impact crater located in the east of this area , exposing a field of dark sand dunes and other rocky areas . - Picture "Mars as Art " - NASA / JPL -Caltech / University of Arizona / HI -RISE .

To follow: Martian other stories ... volcanic .

Sources :

- Universe today - This black stain on Mars could be volcanic leftovers - link

- DLR Portal - A "radiant" beauty - sulphourous sediments in Becquerel crater (05.09.2013)  - link

- Nasa - Mars exploration program - "Mars as Art" - link