Methane Mystery Deepens

Either way be it Organics, Volcanics or water reacting with rocks 19,000 tons of Methane on Mars is certainly one to investigate further and will no doubt dictate the next landing site.

BBC report here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8186314.stm

Thanks for the link Kevin. Reading this i think about methane breathing bacteria on earth at once!
example: [link] /reports/life_sciences/report-33803.html

I wonder if the planetary scientiest have that on their desk as well!?

Hi MPJ,

Couldn't get the link to work do you have the full address so I can cut and paste it?

Cheers.

KPM

Scientists explore genome of methane-breathing microbe

The various landforms we see in HiRISE images all over Mars begs for acceptance of mud volcano or similar type activity as a method of explaining small areas affected, for whatever direct causes, giving a limited issuance of liquids or gases at trough drainage features, tectonic movement stresses, and residual surface shapes such as large spheroidal mounds, and cones with drainage fissures.
Studying Picasa albums, I found this very fine album of closeups, from Romania. Andreea studied this well in the various linked images from Vulcanii_noroiosi album.
The Romania location, for gas powered 'mud' volcanoes. The Google Maps feature gives an overview of the proximity of the various gas-powered sources for most of Earth's water/gas powered geology activity in current timing.
To add a couple WEB links to these,
Regional flaming 'mud' volcano activity with presumably methane powered gas processes.
Same region as above.
We take a huge volume of gas and oil from the region, as fuels.
It may seem I've traveled beyond the subject of a simple Methane source venting on Mars, but the addition of many examples on Mars in satellite photos, of troughs and large apparent mud spheroid hemispheric shapes associated with them, gives a strong indication of a former 'wetter' environment on Mars, in areas around the globe.
Contained in the links are large sedimentary spheroidal shapes found associated in the areas with the 'mud' volcano activity, in relatively close proximity, and often the 'mud' volcano's are associated on Earth with releases of gases, not just a water/heat powered gas process, as in geysers.
Finding the two subjects on Mars in satellite information gives me hope for Hortonheardawho's suggestion of an active process conditioning the past on Mars.

A link to some of Andreea's Picasa album images which show the large spheroidal shapes in the vicinity of the 'mud' volcano eruptions. These are not related to the methane necessarily, but the eruption of methane at vents, with buried ices may have given a driving force for trough production on Mars, if pinpointing the sources focuses on those features eventually. Large spheroidal shapes appearing like these exist around short trough systems on Mars. Could high methane release levels have given Mars it's unusual geological features, combined with migrating ice's or liquid water?
Was methane release a very prolific factor in Mars earlier history, as may have been the case on Earth?
I am suggesting an association of methane and water. We apparently do not see that in current ice/water repositories on Mars. Troughs, tectonic activity, or possible venting seems reasonable for current Mars methane, I believe, and do the sources indicate any probability that they would be more active in recent geologic timing?

Great read Dana.

Fred

Nice read and interesting image links Dana! The shape and size of earthly mud vulcanos looks somehow familar after viewing lots of HiRISE Mars closeups...
Interestingly the methane plumes on Mars are connected to the seasons as of its rising in spring and start decrease in autum. Also there is a realationship with water vapor and methan concentrations, especialy in Arabia Terra (Mawrth Vallis is located at the northern edge of Arabia).
see Mars Methane: Geology or Biology?

btw: I recently talked to a DLR scientist (geologist) of Neukums MEX HRSC team who held a lecture. Prof. Neukum is quite sure that Mars vulcanos are not realy dead and he tends more to geologic processes as explanation of the measured methane. Yet i dont realy understand how vulcanic activity could be connected to seasons...

If the methane is localized I wonder if it could be somehow harvested for future human missions to Mars. It would make a good fuel source. Of course, we might wind up starving some other life form.

Stan

[link]

This is the actual Nature article (letter). The authors do not seem to consider the possibility that the rapid destruction of methane may itself be due to a biological process.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0908/10mars/

More on the methane story.

Thanks Barsoomer very interesting that they know of three specific regions where the Methane emerged, the results from the November conference will be worth a read.

I think it is highly possible that there is activity beneath the surface and could possibly melt enough water ice to create a large body of water capable of supporting life near volcanic flumes or vents. Mars is not dead yet there are still some embers glowing in the fire.

This link shortcuts much descriptive writing about the polar ,equatorial, scaled 3D crystallographic super-structural processes dominating Mars. I'll be updating and adding images to the mix on the 'background page'. The background 'collage' can be downloaded by right-clicking the background, and selecting the "download this background image" at my twitter page.
Using marscloseup as a username currently.
Can anyone elaborate on why all these images are related in crystalline shaping at all scales, in various climates and materials, and, why do these match the 3D structural appearances of the Earth based deep oceanic trench clathrate ice shaping of the ice inhabited by the isolated, dependent, 'ice worms'?
I find this as broad in distribution and dominant a theme on Mars as I can find. A planet-wide equivalency to Earth deep oceanic life forms and the minerals they consume and breath.

This is very exciting science. Or, is this Science, as in a new discovery among the onlookers studying this?

Why is this soo quiet a story over the past few years?

Is methane ice involved in all this on Mars and Earth?

One example of consideration for the processes which I can observe are related in phyical formations as some of the most complex and detailed structures found on Mars as yet.

The same physical structures, which I tried to set aside as simple 'wind tail symmetric vortice patterns', is very much more complex and elaborate in some examples than a wind or water directional vortex should exist as.
The many varied sources for these are difficult for me to explain.

Many persons are viewing these and are not satisfied with a denial of the connection to the Mars polar structures.

Dana, i think this is a "hot potato domain" and therefore nobody realy dares to jump ahead without realy hard facts as of in-situ measurements (scientific method requires absolutely conclusive and proven data). But i know what you think as you study Mars in close-up as i do since 8 months and I am at least as excited as you i guess
Lets hope the next landers will "hit the bullseye" and provide the last missing data. Unfortunatly it looks like we have this opportunity only once every 10 years so its absolutly important to choose the right spot. Still i think we will find the answers in Mawrth Vallis with the highest likelyhood of all the proposed MSL landing sites. Other sites may be more interesting geologicly as there are more records of the past Mars visible but i think the main concern is a different at the moment

Ive found this paper from 2007 which is a very interesting read regarding possible biologic processes:
Conditions on Early Mars Might Have Fostered Rapid and Early
Development of Life

The autors also suggest the possibilities of developement of more complex life which i find especialy interesting

I can't believe that water is any more essential than oxygen or carbon dioxide.

Methane discovered rising from the Ocean bed on Earth from Ice that has been warmed up, could this be happening on Mars? Without liquid water the Methane would go straight into the atmosphere, with water this process would have made the water on Mars more acidic which we know it was.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8205864.stm

Carbonyl Sulphide

Finding the issuance spots of methane, if it is concentrated in small release zones, may be difficult, as these closeups of the dark 'fans' of the polar regions display.
Most persons never discuss the sources of these fans as not visible, but rather hidden in layered overlapping structures which are seldom seen directly.
These do not have recorded methane seepage, as best I understand it, but the processes of methane release may be either hidden or not concentrated in singular structural release spots as seen here for the dark 'dust' releases.
.

.

Interesting that we have now found over 5700 diffeent species living half a mile or more beneath Earth's Oceans where there is no light and crushing pressure from above. Also interesting is what these creatures live on and Methane is one of many food sources they consume. Mars may have liquid water far beneath its surface where life forms similar to our deep Oceanic species could live and feed off of Methane as well. Chances are Enceladus or Europa will be checked for such things way before Mars ever is and probably not in my life time.

http://news.uk.msn.com/environment/wildlife/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=150372361

I wonder if on of these Methane zones will be the next landing site?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8402741.stm