Mugearite
“The rare sodium-rich lava”
Mugearite is a fine-grained volcanic rock intermediate between basalt and trachyte, characterized by its enrichment in sodium relative to potassium. It's one of the rarer members of the alkaline volcanic rock series and is named after Mugeary on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
oligoclase, olivine, augite, apatite, magnetite, analcime
Isle of Skye (Scotland), Edinburgh (Arthur's Seat), East African Rift, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha
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NASA's Curiosity rover discovered mugearite on Mars at Gale Crater, suggesting that the red planet once had the same kind of alkaline volcanic activity found on Earth's ocean islands.
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Why was the discovery of mugearite on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover scientifically significant?
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