Source of Methane on Mars
Geochemical
research done at Newcastle University, UK, and published in Scientific
Reports,has ruled out wind erosion of rocks as the primary cause of methane
gas release on Mars.
Methane
can be produced over time through both geological and biological routes and
since its first detection in the Martian atmosphere in 2003, there has been
intense speculation about the source of the gas and the possibility that it
could signal life on the planet.
Previous studies have suggested that methane may
appear in localised and very temporary pockets on the planet's surface.
The
team found that for wind erosion to be a viable mechanism to produce detectable
methane in the Martian atmosphere, the methane content of any gas trapped
within rocks would have to rival those of some of the richest hydrocarbon
containing shales on Earth; a highly unlikely scenario. It strengthens the
argument that the methane must be coming from a different source.
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