Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations

Christopher R Webster¹, Paul R Mahaffy², Sushil K Atreya³, John E Moores⁴, Gregory J Flesch⁵, Charles Malespin², Christopher P McKay⁶, German Martinez³, Christina L Smith⁴, Javier Martin-Torres^{7

8}, Javier Gomez-Elvira⁹, Maria-Paz Zorzano^{7

9}, Michael H Wong³, Melissa G Trainer², Andrew Steele¹⁰, Doug Archer Jr¹¹, Brad Sutter¹¹, Patrice J Coll¹², Caroline Freissinet¹³, Pierre-Yves Meslin¹⁴, Raina V Gough¹⁵, Christopher H House¹⁶, Alexander Pavlov², Jennifer L Eigenbrode², Daniel P Glavin², John C Pearson⁵, Didier Keymeulen⁵, Lance E Christensen⁵, Susanne P Schwenzer¹⁷, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez¹⁸, Jorge Pla-García^{9

19}, Scot C R Rafkin²⁰, Álvaro Vicente-Retortillo³, Henrik Kahanpää²¹, Daniel Viudez-Moreiras⁹, Michael D Smith², Ari-Matti Harri²¹, Maria Genzer²¹, Donald M Hassler²⁰, Mark Lemmon²², Joy Crisp⁵, Stanley P Sander⁵, Richard W Zurek⁵, Ashwin R Vasavada⁵

Affiliations

¹ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. chris.r.webster@jpl.nasa.gov.
² NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
³ Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
⁶ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
⁸ Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Granada, Spain.
⁹ Centro de Astrobiología, Instituto National de Tecnica Aerospacial, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁰ Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA.
¹¹ Jacobs Technology, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA.
¹² Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, Creteil Cedex, France.
¹³ Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris Cedex 05, France.
¹⁴ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
¹⁵ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
¹⁷ School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
¹⁸ Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, Mexico.
¹⁹ Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA.
²⁰ Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
²¹ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
²² Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

PMID: 29880682
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0131

Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations

Christopher R Webster et al. Science. 2018.

. 2018 Jun 8;360(6393):1093-1096.

doi: 10.1126/science.aaq0131.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. chris.r.webster@jpl.nasa.gov.
² NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
³ Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
⁶ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
⁸ Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Granada, Spain.
⁹ Centro de Astrobiología, Instituto National de Tecnica Aerospacial, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁰ Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA.
¹¹ Jacobs Technology, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA.
¹² Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, Creteil Cedex, France.
¹³ Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris Cedex 05, France.
¹⁴ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
¹⁵ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
¹⁷ School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
¹⁸ Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, Mexico.
¹⁹ Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA.
²⁰ Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
²¹ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
²² Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

PMID: 29880682
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0131

Abstract

Variable levels of methane in the martian atmosphere have eluded explanation partly because the measurements are not repeatable in time or location. We report in situ measurements at Gale crater made over a 5-year period by the Tunable Laser Spectrometer on the Curiosity rover. The background levels of methane have a mean value 0.41 ± 0.16 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) (95% confidence interval) and exhibit a strong, repeatable seasonal variation (0.24 to 0.65 ppbv). This variation is greater than that predicted from either ultraviolet degradation of impact-delivered organics on the surface or from the annual surface pressure cycle. The large seasonal variation in the background and occurrences of higher temporary spikes (~7 ppbv) are consistent with small localized sources of methane released from martian surface or subsurface reservoirs.

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Comment in

Organic molecules on Mars.
Ten Kate IL. Ten Kate IL. Science. 2018 Jun 8;360(6393):1068-1069. doi: 10.1126/science.aat2662. Science. 2018. PMID: 29880670 No abstract available.
Comments on the June 7, 2018, NASA News Release and Papers.
Levin GV, Straat PA. Levin GV, et al. Astrobiology. 2018 Jul;18(7):841-842. doi: 10.1089/ast.2018.1922. Epub 2018 Jul 16. Astrobiology. 2018. PMID: 30010389 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations

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Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations

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