Maddy TurnerPostdoctoral Scholar

Research Focus:

Planetary Science

Email:

mturner10@uchicago.edu

Office:

Hinds 459

Biography:

I obtained a B.S. in Geology from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in Planetary Sciences in October, 2023.

Research Interests:

I use GIS to perform remote structural mapping and quantitative geomorphology to characterize the sedimentary rock record of Mars, and better understand how it relates to ancient Martian environments. I also work on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover mission. I am interested in Martian Geology, Planetary Geology, and Remote Sensing.

Publications:

Madison Turner; Aster C Cowart; Steve G Banham; Frances Rivera-Hernández; William Rapin; Edwin S Kite “Centimeter-scale polygonal terrain on Mars: constraints on polygonal ground formation from the Curiosity Rover” IN PREP.

Madison Turner; Leafia Sheraden-Cox; Kevin Lewis; Sabrina Y Khan; Sasha Warren “Explorations of the Quaternary Peoria Loess: A Terrestrial Analog for Martian Dust Deposition” Journal of Geophysical Resarch: Planets. IN PREP.

Madison Turner Edwin Kite “Pacing Early Mars Sedimentary Rock Formation” Geophysical Research Letters. IN REVIEW.

Madison Turner; Sabrina Y Khan; Axel Noblet; Kevin Lewis; Edwin S Kite “Early thinning, late persistence, diachronous boundaries, and a regional dichotomy in Mars’ young sedimentary rocks” Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Accepted.

Edwin S Kite; Benjamin M Tutolo; Madison Turner; Heather Franz; David G Burtt; Thomas F Bristow; Woodward W Fischer; Ralph E Milliken; Abigail A Fraeman; Daniel Zhou “Carbonate formation and fluctuating habitability on Mars” Nature. (2025) 643.

Daniel Y Zhou; Madison Turner; William Rapin; Juergen Schieber; Amelie L Roberts; Aster C Cowart; Megan E Hoffman; Bernard Hallet; Steve G Banham; Deirdra Fey; Kevin W Lewis; Sanjeev Gupta; Claire E Newman; Ashwin R Vasavada; Cathy M Weitz; William E Dietrich; John A Grant; Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras; Edwin S Kite “How does topography affect wind abrasion on Mars? Recently observed shifts in ventifact orientation at Gale crater” Icarus. (2025) 437.

Madison Turner Kevin Lewis “The Geologic Structure of the Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars” Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. (2023) 128. 

Melissa J Meyer; Ralph E Milliken; Kathryn M Stack; Lauren A Edgar; Elizabeth B Rampe; Madison Turner; Kevin W Lewis; Edwin S Kite; Gwénaël Caravaca; Ashwin R Vasavada; William E Dietrich; Alexander B Bryk; Olivier Gasnault; Stéphane Le Mouélic; Christina H Seeger; Rachel Y Sheppard “Geological context and significance of the clay-sulfate transition region in Mount Sharp, Gale crater, Mars: An integrated assessment based on orbiter and rover data” GSA Bulletin. (2024). 

Rob Sullivan Mariah M Baker; Claire Newman; Madison Turner; Juergen Schieber; Catherine Weitz; Bernard Hallet; Douglas Ellison; Michelle Minitti “The Aeolian Environment in Glen Torridon, Gale crater, Mars” Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. (2022) 127, 8. 

Lyle L Nelson; Jahandar Ramezani; John E Almond; Simon A F Darroch; Wendy L Taylor; Dana C Brenner; Ryan P Furey; Madison Turner; Emmy F Smith “Pushing the boundary: A calibrated Ediacaran-Cambrian stratigraphic record from the Nama Group in northwestern Republic of South Africa” Earth and Planetary Science Letters. (2022) 580.

Ben T Cardenas; John P Grotzinger; Mike P Lamb; Christopher Fedo; Alex Bryk; William Dietrich; Nathaniel Stein; Kevin Lewis; Madison Turner “Fluvial barform deposits of the Carolyn Shoemaker formation, Gale crater, Mars” Journal of Sedimentary Research. (2022) 92, 12.

Tyler L Spano; Ewa A Dzik; Melika Sharifironizi; Megan K Dustin; Madison Turner; Peter C. Burns “Thermodynamic investigation of uranyl vanadate minerals: Implications for structural stability” American Mineralogist. (2017) 102, 6.

Katlyn Turner Dylan R Rittman; Rachel A Heymach; Cameron L Tracy; Madison L Turner; Antonio F Fuentes; Wendy L Mao; Rodney C Ewing “Pressure-induced structural modifications of rare-earth hafnate pyrochlore” Journal of Physics, Condensed Matter. (2017) 29, 25.

 

Selected Conference Presentations:

Mars’ Sedimentary Clock: Accumulation Rates and Timescales Tracked from Syndepositional Craters.(Presentation) 56th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), Spring 2025. The Woodlands, Texas.

Mars Sedimentation in Space and Time. (Presentation) Tenth International Conference on Mars, Summer 2024. Pasadena, California.

Explorations of the Quaternary Peoria Loess: A Terrestrial Analogue for Martian Aeolian Dust Deposition. (Presentation) GSA Fall meeting, Fall 2022. Denver, Colorado