[FPSPACE] Oliviine weathering may be the culprit for the Mars Methane

[LARRY KLAES]

>http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2005/06/07a.html
>
>In their paper published online in May in the American Geophysical Union's 
>journal, Geophysical Research Letters, Sharma and Oze describe how methane 
>on Mars can be made from abiotic, or non-living, sources. When water 
>containing dissolved carbon dioxide comes in contact with olivine, it 
>produces hydrogen, which then combines with carbon dioxide to produce 
>methane. The authors contend that olivine is abundant on Mars at shallow 
>depths, and it could easily react with fluids just beneath the surface.
>
>"Most methane on Earth is produced by bacteria, and methane has been cited 
>as an indicator of life on other planets," explains Sharma. "However, we 
>show in our paper that the mineral olivine can be altered in the presence 
>of water and carbon dioxide, which can produce copious quantities of 
>methane. It's quite easy to do, and there is nothing bacterial about it. If 
>there is life on Mars, I would like to see better evidence than methane."
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