Abstract
The surface of Mars has long been seen as a basaltic, monotonous world, but observations in the past decade have revealed more petrological diversity. Orbital and in situ rover investigations show that Mars developed a silica-rich crust early in its history. This is supported by studies of the Martian regolith breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7533 (and paired meteorites). When and to what extent rocks on Mars differentiated, and which geodynamical process could lead to this evolution, is still unclear. Here we use petrology and in situ geochemical analyses to document the presence of quartz in lithic clasts of NWA 7533. The clasts have a granitic composition with a mineral assemblage dominated by quartz, potassium feldspar and plagioclase. Such quartz-bearing clasts are the most evolved silicic rocks yet recognized among differentiated Martian lithologies. These clasts suggest the likely existence of pre-Noachian granitic rocks on Mars that formed in the presence of water. In bulk composition they resemble the oldest terrestrial rocks (Acasta gneisses, Canada) and also rocks from the large Sudbury impact structure. Therefore, we suggest that the combined action of hydrothermal activity and impact melting could have triggered the formation of granitic rocks and evolved crust on early Mars and Earth.
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Data availability
All data used for the figures (main, Supplementary Information and Extended Data) and the tables are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14623410 (ref. 54).
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Acknowledgements
This research benefited from funding from the CNRS-PNP and the MNHN-ATM to B.Z. and O.B. H.L. thanks the electron microscopy facility of the Chevreul Institute, University of Lille, and funding through the CHEMACT project supported by the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche, the region Hauts-de-France and the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF/DMR-2128556* and the State of Florida (MH). In Lausanne, thanks are due to T. Bovay, F. Plane and the SwissSIMS team for maintaining the instrument. In Paris, thanks are due to O. Boudouma for access to the cathodoluminescence service, and M. Fialin and N. Rividi for their help with the electron microprobe (CAMPARIS, Paris). In Lille, thanks are due to D. Troadec for his help with FIB.
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O.B. and B.Z. conceived this study. V.M., O.B., B.Z., D.D., S.P. and R.H.H. acquired the petrological and mineralogical data (SEM, Raman, electron microprobe). J.M.-C., D.R., A.S.B. and E.B. acquired the SIMS data. H.L. acquired the TEM data. All authors were involved in the interpretation of the data. O.B. led the writing of the paper to which all co-authors contributed with comments and inputs.
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Extended data
Extended Data Fig. 1 Variability and location of CLMR in several sections of NWA 7533.
(a) SEM image in BSE mode of the NWA 7533 section (SP10) with its different components: CLMR (Clast Laden Melt Rock), Mo (monzonitic clast), No (Noritic clast) and quartz-bearing CLMR. (b) SEM EDS mapping of the NWA 7533 section (SP10) with Si, Mg, Fe and P represented. All quartz fragments are located within a distinct Mg-poor and Ca-rich quartz-bearing CLMR in the right part of the section. This quartz-bearing CLMR (highlighted in yellow in C, D and E), including its inner vitrophyric melt (in orange) can be traced through 3 distinct polished sections in the same piece of NWA 7533: SP10 (c), SP9 (d) and SP11 (e). Extrapolating the shape of this zone at the edge of each section suggests a roundish shape with a vitrophyric core. Several CLMR (in pink numbered from 1 to 3) and some prominent lithic clasts (circled in white) can be traced through the sections, highlighting the spatial continuity.
Extended Data Fig. 2 Petrology of the quartz-bearing CLMR.
(a) SEM BSE map of the quartz-bearing CLMR where all the quartz grains, including those contained in quartz-bearing clasts, were found in section SP10. (B) The close-up BSE map illustrates the varied and complex microtextures observed in this melt zone, including pyroxene clumps with a plagioclase aureole as described in Hewins et al.8. A fine-grained rim surrounds the inner vitrophyric melt (b).
Extended Data Fig. 3 Chemical composition of CLMR in NWA 7533.
Chemical composition of the quartz-bearing CLMR (in yellow) and of other CLMR (in pink, see Extended Data Fig. 2 for location of each CLMR from corresponding numbers) compared to the bulk matrix of NWA 75337. (a) CaO versus MgO, (b) Al2O3 versus FeO. Average compositions are derived from the average of electron microprobe data obtained on a series of ten to twenty 12*9 μm raster point analyses. Error bars are standard deviations for these analyses (see Supplementary Table 1).
Extended Data Fig. 4 Petrology and chemical composition of quartz-bearing clasts.
SEM BSE images and corresponding SEM EDS mapping of four quartz-bearing clasts (QBC) identified in the quartz-bearing CLMR of NWA 7533. The lithic clasts shown are (a) clastno. 1, (b) clast no. 3, (c) clast no. 4, and (d) clast no. 5. Qtz = quartz, Kfs = K-feldspar, Pl = plagioclase, Px = pyroxene, Il = ilmenite, Ap = apatite.
Extended Data Fig. 5 TEM imaging of FIB sections in quartz.
Mosaic of TEM images in low magnification bright-field mode of two FIB sections from Qtz no. 13 (a) and Qtz no. 10 (b). In both cases, quartz appears as single crystal with only minor defects. Bragg fringes are disrupted by planar defects interpreted as shock features at low intensity.
Extended Data Fig. 6 High-resolution images within the FIB sections obtained by TEM in bright field mode.
(a) Growth twins at the edge of the section from Qtz no. 10. Mechanical twinning in (0001) in Qtz no. 13 (b,c). (d) Lamellae of amorphous material in (\(10\bar{1}3\)) together with mechanical twins within Qtz no. 10. (e) Beam of planar defects in (\(10\bar{1}1\)) within the Qtz no. 2. (f) Small mineral inclusions linked by a thin planar defect within Qtz no. 13.
Extended Data Fig. 7 Mineral composition in quartz-bearing clasts.
Composition of pyroxene (a) and feldspar (b) in quartz-bearing clasts (clasts 1 to 4) and other individual fragments found in the quartz-bearing CLMR and in the matrix of the breccia8. Compositions were analysed by electron microprobe. Mineral phases in clast #5 are too small to be analysed by electron microprobe.
Extended Data Fig. 9 Geochemistry of quartz-bearing clasts.
Geochemical diagrams comparing the composition of the quartz-bearing clasts with other lithic clasts in the NWA 7533 (and paired meteorites) breccia6,7,8, and terrestrial rocks like the Archean TTGs36, the Acasta gneiss and Idiwhaa tonalite44. (a) Na2O/K2O versus SiO2, (b) FeO versus MgO, (c) FeO versus SiO2.
Extended Data Fig. 10 Isotopic comparison with Jack Hills zircons.
(a) Calculation of δ18O for quartz in equilibrium with zircon versus temperature for the Hadean Jack Hills zircons. Zircon δ18O data are from 6 zircons in Peck et al.56 and 18 zircons in Mojzsis et al.37, and the oxygen fractionation is taken from Valley et al.57. Each point is the average of calculated values and the error is their standard deviation. (b) The δ18O values measured in the Martian quartz are shown in the histogram plot for comparison.
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Malarewicz, V., Beyssac, O., Zanda, B. et al. Evidence for pre-Noachian granitic rocks on Mars from quartz in meteorite NWA 7533. Nat. Geosci. 18, 207–212 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01653-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01653-z
