Why is there methane on Mars?

[Antaletriangle]

Is this another step closer to life confirmation on Mars by NASA?
Explanation: Why is there methane on Mars? No one is sure. An important confirmation that methane exists in the atmosphere of Mars occurred last week, bolstering previous controversial claims made as early as 2003. The confirmation was made spectroscopically using large ground-based telescopes by finding precise colors absorbed on Mars that match those absorbed by methane on Earth. Given that methane is destroyed in the open martian air in a matter of years, the present existence of the fragile gas indicates that it is currently being released, somehow, from the surface of Mars. One prospect is that microbes living underground are creating it, or created it in the past. If true, this opens the exciting possibility that life might be present under the surface of Mars even today. Given the present data, however, it is also possible that a purely geologic process, potentially involving volcanism or rust and not involving any life forms, is the methane creator. Pictured above is an image of Mars superposed with a map of the recent methane detection.

[scanner]

it's the beans sorry sorry can;t stop myself sorry

Cattle and sheep - farting, burping???....

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Science.gc.ca
Science and Technology for Canadians

"Methane is perhaps most familiar to us as the main component of natural gas. Though present in the atmosphere at very low concentrations, it is a comparatively powerful greenhouse gas: one kilogram of methane has 21 times the warming effect of the same amount of carbon dioxide. The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is increasing annually. Globally, agriculture is a prominent source of methane. Much of the methane produced on farms is from cattle and sheep. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists are studying what the cow is eating to make it more environmentally friendly, with some interesting findings."
http://www.science.gc.ca/default.asp...n&n=7F9A808A-1

LOVE

[Dantheman62]

: chuff:

[Steve_A]

Hi Antaletriangle,

Is it possible that the gas came from Uranus?

Best regards,

Steve

Originally Posted by Antaletriangle

Is this another step closer to life confirmation on Mars by NASA?
Explanation: Why is there methane on Mars? No one is sure. An important confirmation that methane exists in the atmosphere of Mars occurred last week, bolstering previous controversial claims made as early as 2003.

[Dantheman62]

HaHa, good one Steve, let me mark that one....hmmmm Jan. 20th, Steve A told a funny one! LOL! Just kiddin SteveO, oops I mean Steve A

[Steve_A]

Hi Dantheman62,

I just hope that my funny will not overshadow the other thing that happened on this day. What was it now?

Best regards,

Steve

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

HaHa, good one Steve, let me mark that one....hmmmm Jan. 20th, Steve A told a funny one! LOL! Just kiddin SteveO, oops I mean Steve A

[Dantheman62]

HaHa yeah I heard there was some kind of gathering or something like that in Washington, or was it a new puppet show, hmmm

[Steve_A]

Punch & Judy

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

HaHa yeah I heard there was some kind of gathering or something like that in Washington, or was it a new puppet show, hmmm

[Dantheman62]

BwaHaHa

[Antaletriangle]

Alright,alright i left it wide open for those dredged up one liners!!lol. Uranus etc etc.lol.

[Luminari]

This is whats causing the methane.. Mars trees and vegetation, but I'm preaching to the choir here I know that



Near nicholson crater:

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?I...tegory=Science
“We observed and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars,
one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane.”
- Geronimo Villanueva, Ph.D., NASA Goddard



Yellow circles at Nili Fossae and southeast quadrant of Syrtis Major, ancient volcano,
mark where NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have measured large quantities
of methane emissions since 2003. The persistent size of methane quantities imply a
continually replenishing source. Is it geological? Or biological? Map created
by Alwyn Botha, www.the-planet-mars-com.

January 25, 2009 Greenbelt, Maryland - Methane on Mars was first detected in 1999 and 2001, and then has been measured in persistent quantities since 2003 over at least two “hot spots” in the Martian northern hemisphere shown on map above:

1) east of Arabia Terra in the Nili Fossae region;

2) and in the southeastern quadrant of Syrtis Major, an ancient Martian volcano that is 745 miles across (1200 kilometer).
Methane is not a stable molecule in the Martian atmosphere and would vanish over time unless replenished by a methane-producing source. The mystery is the source since on Earth methane is the main constituent of natural gas, four atoms of hydrogen bound to a carbon atom. Biological organisms release much of Earth's methane as they digest nutrients. However, other purely geological processes, such as oxidation of iron, also release methane as do active volcanoes. But since there are no known active volcanoes on Mars, does the persistent methane release mean there are methane-producing organisms? If living organisms, what are they? How old are they? How deep underground are they?

Over the past five years, the spectral signature of methane on Mars has been seen by the Infrared Telescope and W. M. Keck telescope, both at Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the Gemini South Observatory in Chile; and the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (FPS). In the January 15, 2009, electronic journal Science Express, lead author Michael Mumma, Ph.D., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Geronimo Villaneuva, Ph.D., Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. who works with NASA Goddard, reported “the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars that indicates the planet is still alive in either a biological or geological sense.”

NASA's January 19, 2009, press release quotes Dr. Michael Mumma: “Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas. At northern Martian mid-summer, methane is released at a rate comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, California.”

NASA's press release states that scientists don't yet know enough to say with certainty what the source of the Martian methane is, but provides an artist's concept of another hypothetical methane release beyond active volcanism and living organisms - “ice cages” of trapped ancient methane.

NASA also stated, “If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface, where it's still warm enough for liquid water to exist. Liquid water, as well as energy sources and a supply of carbon, are necessary for all known forms of life.

NASA's Mumma: “On Earth, microorganisms thrive 2 to 3 kilometers (about 1.2 to 1.9 miles) beneath the Witwatersrand basin of South Africa, where natural radioactivity splits water molecules into molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen. The organisms use the hydrogen for energy. It might be possible for similar organisms to survive for billions of years below the permafrost layer on Mars, where water is liquid, radiation supplies energy, and carbon dioxide provides carbon. Gases, like methane, accumulated in such underground zones might be released into the atmosphere if pores or fissures open during the warm seasons, connecting the deep zones to the atmosphere at crater walls or canyons.”

Carl Pilcher, Ph.D., Director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute added: “Microbes that produced methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide were one of the earliest forms of life on Earth. If life ever existed on Mars, it's reasonable to think that its metabolism might have involved making methane from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide.”

NASA January 19, 2009 Press Release: “The Goddard science team used spectrometer instruments attached to the telescopes to make the detection. Spectrometers spread light into its component colors, like a prism separates white light into a rainbow. The team looked for dark areas in specific places along the rainbow (light spectrum) where methane was absorbing sunlight reflected from the Martian surface. They found three such areas, called absorption lines, which together are a definitive signature of methane, according to the team. They were able to distinguish lines from Martian methane from the methane in Earth's atmosphere because the motion of the Red Planet shifted the position of the Martian lines, much as a speeding ambulance causes its siren to change pitch as it passes by.

‘We observed and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars, one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane,’ said Geronimo Villanueva, Ph.D. ‘The plumes were emitted during the warmer seasons -- spring and summer -- perhaps because the permafrost blocking cracks and fissures vaporized, allowing methane to seep into the Martian air. Curiously, some plumes had water vapor while others did not.’

It will take future missions, like NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, to discover the origin of the Martian methane. One way to tell if life is the source of the gas is by measuring isotope ratios. Isotopes are heavier versions of an element; for example, deuterium is a heavier version of hydrogen. In molecules that contain hydrogen, like water and methane, the rare deuterium occasionally replaces a hydrogen atom. Since life prefers to use the lighter isotopes, if the methane has less deuterium than the water released with it on Mars, it's a sign that life is producing the methane.”

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?I...tegory=Science
“We observed and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars,
one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane.”
- Geronimo Villanueva, Ph.D., NASA Goddard

Yellow circles at Nili Fossae and southeast quadrant of Syrtis Major, ancient volcano,
mark where NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have measured large quantities
of methane emissions since 2003. The persistent size of methane quantities imply a
continually replenishing source. Is it geological? Or biological? Map created
by Alwyn Botha, www.the-planet-mars-com.

January 25, 2009 Greenbelt, Maryland - Methane on Mars was first detected in 1999 and 2001, and then has been measured in persistent quantities since 2003 over at least two “hot spots” in the Martian northern hemisphere shown on map above:

1) east of Arabia Terra in the Nili Fossae region;

2) and in the southeastern quadrant of Syrtis Major, an ancient Martian volcano that is 745 miles across (1200 kilometer).
Methane is not a stable molecule in the Martian atmosphere and would vanish over time unless replenished by a methane-producing source. The mystery is the source since on Earth methane is the main constituent of natural gas, four atoms of hydrogen bound to a carbon atom. Biological organisms release much of Earth's methane as they digest nutrients. However, other purely geological processes, such as oxidation of iron, also release methane as do active volcanoes. But since there are no known active volcanoes on Mars, does the persistent methane release mean there are methane-producing organisms? If living organisms, what are they? How old are they? How deep underground are they?

Over the past five years, the spectral signature of methane on Mars has been seen by the Infrared Telescope and W. M. Keck telescope, both at Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the Gemini South Observatory in Chile; and the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (FPS). In the January 15, 2009, electronic journal Science Express, lead author Michael Mumma, Ph.D., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Geronimo Villaneuva, Ph.D., Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. who works with NASA Goddard, reported “the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars that indicates the planet is still alive in either a biological or geological sense.”

NASA's January 19, 2009, press release quotes Dr. Michael Mumma: “Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas. At northern Martian mid-summer, methane is released at a rate comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, California.”

NASA's press release states that scientists don't yet know enough to say with certainty what the source of the Martian methane is, but provides an artist's concept of another hypothetical methane release beyond active volcanism and living organisms - “ice cages” of trapped ancient methane.

NASA also stated, “If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface, where it's still warm enough for liquid water to exist. Liquid water, as well as energy sources and a supply of carbon, are necessary for all known forms of life.

NASA's Mumma: “On Earth, microorganisms thrive 2 to 3 kilometers (about 1.2 to 1.9 miles) beneath the Witwatersrand basin of South Africa, where natural radioactivity splits water molecules into molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen. The organisms use the hydrogen for energy. It might be possible for similar organisms to survive for billions of years below the permafrost layer on Mars, where water is liquid, radiation supplies energy, and carbon dioxide provides carbon. Gases, like methane, accumulated in such underground zones might be released into the atmosphere if pores or fissures open during the warm seasons, connecting the deep zones to the atmosphere at crater walls or canyons.”

Carl Pilcher, Ph.D., Director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute added: “Microbes that produced methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide were one of the earliest forms of life on Earth. If life ever existed on Mars, it's reasonable to think that its metabolism might have involved making methane from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide.”

NASA January 19, 2009 Press Release: “The Goddard science team used spectrometer instruments attached to the telescopes to make the detection. Spectrometers spread light into its component colors, like a prism separates white light into a rainbow. The team looked for dark areas in specific places along the rainbow (light spectrum) where methane was absorbing sunlight reflected from the Martian surface. They found three such areas, called absorption lines, which together are a definitive signature of methane, according to the team. They were able to distinguish lines from Martian methane from the methane in Earth's atmosphere because the motion of the Red Planet shifted the position of the Martian lines, much as a speeding ambulance causes its siren to change pitch as it passes by.

‘We observed and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars, one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane,’ said Geronimo Villanueva, Ph.D. ‘The plumes were emitted during the warmer seasons -- spring and summer -- perhaps because the permafrost blocking cracks and fissures vaporized, allowing methane to seep into the Martian air. Curiously, some plumes had water vapor while others did not.’

It will take future missions, like NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, to discover the origin of the Martian methane. One way to tell if life is the source of the gas is by measuring isotope ratios. Isotopes are heavier versions of an element; for example, deuterium is a heavier version of hydrogen. In molecules that contain hydrogen, like water and methane, the rare deuterium occasionally replaces a hydrogen atom. Since life prefers to use the lighter isotopes, if the methane has less deuterium than the water released with it on Mars, it's a sign that life is producing the methane.”