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Readings from the rover found methane levels to be around half of what scientists had expected, based on all the natural processes that should be creating methane on the surface.
But periodically during their 20 month observation, the NASA scientists saw methane levels spike by an order of 10 -- sometimes in as little as 60 Martian days (just over two months on Earth).
That probably means that it's being vented out somewhere near the crater, then quickly dispersing. It's likely that some process beneath the surface -- whether it's biological or geological -- occasionally floods the Gale Crater with methane by burping it out. Then the winds of Mars scatters the gas, and UV radiation destroys much of the methane.
originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: theantediluvian
Thanks for this exciting news. This has further strengthened my belief that there's Martian life forms underground.
originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: theantediluvian
Thanks for this exciting news. This has further strengthened my belief that there's Martian life forms underground.
...
The low background level of methane detected by Curiosity can be explained by the sun's rays degrading organic material possibly deposited by meteors, said the Nasa scientists.
But the spikes of methane required an additional source, which was unlikely to be a recent impact by comet or asteroid.
Such an object would have had to measure several metres across and would have left a large crater - no sign of which was visible.
The short time-scale of the methane spikes did not suggest that the gas was released from volcanic deposits trapped in ice, called clathrates either. Nor did it appear to come from the release of gaseous methane that had become bound to the soil.
The Nasa authors are cautious about jumping to conclusions, but conclude that 'methanogenesis' - the formation of methane by microbial bugs known as methanogens - may be one answer to the riddle.
...
originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: theantediluvian
Thanks for this exciting news. This has further strengthened my belief that there's Martian life forms underground.
originally posted by: sn0rch
There is more exotic life on earth, why do microorganisms on Mars make you happy?
We can not, of course, move Mars to a warmer orbit. However we do know another way to heat a planet, through an artificially induced greenhouse effect that traps the Sun's heat within the atmosphere. Such an atmospheric greenhouse could be created on Mars in at least three different ways. One way would be to set up factories on Mars to produce very powerful artificial greenhouse gasses such as halocarbons ("CFC's") and release them into the atmosphere. Another way would be to use orbital mirrors or other large scale power sources to warm selected areas of the planet, such as the south polar cap, to release large reservoirs of the native greenhouse gas, CO2, which may be trapped their in frozen or adsorbed form. Finally natural greenhouse gases more powerful than CO2 (but much less so than halocarbons) such as ammonia or methane could be imported to Mars in large quantities if asteroidal objects rich with such volatiles in frozen form should prove to exist in the outer solar system.
Each of these methods of planetary warming would be enhanced by large amounts of CO2 from polar cap and the soil that would be released as a result of the induced temperature rise. This CO2 would add massively to the greenhouse effect being created directly, speeding and multiplying the warming process.
The Mars atmosphere/regolith greenhouse effect system is thus one with a built-in positive feedback. The warmer it gets, the thicker the atmosphere becomes; and the thicker the atmosphere becomes the warmer it gets. A method of modeling this system and the results of calculations based upon it are given in the sections below.
originally posted by: JadeStar
The next rover being sent to Mars, Mars 2020 will likely seek an answer to the question of where the methane is coming from if we do not figure it out from data Curiosity has collected/is collecting.