FANTASTIC CLINOFORMS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM? A DETAILED LOOK AT FLUVIAL TO DELTAIC DEPOSITS IN GALE'S LAYERED

Curiosity continues to explore the layered sulfate unit (LSu) of Gale crater as it ascends Mount Sharp. In mid-2025, the rover arrived in the orbitally-defined “boxwork” unit (Fig. 1). There, diagenetically-altered, fine-grained textures have been identified hinting at a probable lacustrine setting [1-2].By contrast, the walls of this valley, and particularly that of the Mishe Mokwa, Cordillera, and western Texoli buttes (Fig. 1), display a wealth of multi-scale sedimentary structures. Some of them indicate that complex wet-aeolian alternations occurred at the time of the deposition [3] as a continuation of the previously studied Mirador fm. (e.g., [4-5]). Yet, these outcrops have also revealed unprecedented clinoform geometries.Using image data acquired with ChemCam’s RMI, we detail three types of clinoform strata within the buttes surrounding this area (Fig. 1). These clinoforms differ in size and process from those recognized earlier in the mission at e.g., Kimberley [6]. Among them, we notably propose the first in-situ observation of deltaic geometries by Curiosity.