[FPSPACE] FW: Mars: methane variations defy known atmospheric processes

[LARRY KLAES]

> Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 11:32:11 +0200
> From: SciTech.editorial at esa.int
> To: ljk4 at msn.com
> Subject: Mars: methane variations defy known atmospheric processes
> 
> MISSION NEWS AS OF 6 AUGUST 2009
> 
> + RECONCILING METHANE VARIATIONS ON MARS
> Recently reported variations in the concentration of atmospheric methane on Mars have proven difficult to explain with 3-D numerical models of the atmosphere that include the known chemical and physical processes. In a paper published this week in Nature, Franck Lefèvre and François Forget present their study to derive the implications of the methane concentrations and their variability. They conclude that there needs to be both an intense localised source of methane and an as yet unidentified destruction mechanism that is much more efficient than the known atmospheric processes that break down methane. Further, if this efficient destruction of methane occurs only close to the surface, these findings imply a very harsh environment for organic molecules to survive on the surface of Mars.
> http://sci.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=45382
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