Although on Mars no near-surface life has been detected, some preservation of organics with depth is expected. Stratigraphic and geochemical information on low-organic carbon (50% samples with Total Organic Carbon = 0.05 − 0.12%) Fe-oxides/oxyhydroxide-rich horizons of deeply buried red paleosoils (late Paleocene-early Eocene(?) in age) are presented here. They were retrieved during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 197 (Emperor Seamounts, North Pacific Transect). Organic traces in Hole 1205A are likely to reflect a complex history of paleosoil formation. Materials from an extremely deep (sub-basement) diagenetic setting, i.e., 46.8 to 309.9 meters below seafloor (mbsf), could represent a model for possible deep subsurface soils preserved on Mars.
Total Organic Carbon in Red Paleosoils and Basalts from ODP Leg 197 and their Potential use as Suitable Models for Mars Soil Analogues