Spectral Investigation of Hydrothermal Altered Volcanic Deposits of Milos as a Martian Analog

Abstract

For the study of past environmental conditions on Mars, the knowledge of complete inventories of minerals characteristic for specific geologic environments are essential [1]. Previous studies of regions on Earth suitable as analog for studying geological processes on planetary surfaces such as Vulcano island (Italy) [2] already enabled the identification of numerous secondary sulfate minerals formed by acid alteration of volcanic deposits due to fumarolic activity. VIS-NIR spectra of these minerals are useful for the comparison with spectral data acquired by past and present Mars missions. In this work, we present the first results of a new comparative study of alteration minerals that could be measured on the volcanic island Milos (Greece) during field work performed in 2024.