Methane in Martian atmosphere: Average spatial, diurnal, and seasonal behaviour

A cometary origin for martian atmospheric methane

“…Local plumes of methane have been noted over Syrtis Major (Mumma et al, 2009), the north polar region (Geminale et al, 2011), Valles Marineris ( Krasnopolsky et al, 1997) and other localities, but plumes have not been observed to re-occur at the same sites. Similarly, statistical studies of data from Mars-orbiting satellites also show that while methane concentrations vary regionally, those variations are not predictably consistent with latitude, longitude, or seasonal changes on the planet (Geminale et al, 2008(Geminale et al, , 2011Webster et al, 2015).…”

Japan Astrobiology Mars Project (JAMP): Search for Microbes on The Mars Surface with Special Interest in Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria

“…O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , T h e P l a n e t a r y F o u r i e r Spectrometer onboard the Mars Express spacecraft detected methane at a concentration of approximately 10 ppbv in global abundance (Formisano et al, 2004;Geminale et al, 2008). Similar abundance was observed by the Fourier Transform Spectrometer at the CanadaFrance-Hawaii Telescope (Krasnopolsky et al, 2004).…”

“…We have to note that technical difficulties in the detection of methane require careful interpretation of the of atmospheric methane on Mars, such as (1) the source of Martian methane is concentrated in both space and time (Mumma, 2009), and (2) trace amounts of methane are released from seasonal melting of the surface of the north polar cap as suggested by PFS onboard the Mars Express (Formisano et al, 2004;Geminale et al, 2008). At this point, we do not know if the sources of observed methane are persistent or transient.…”

A Case Study in the Mars Landing Site Selection for Science Objects

“…Water and methane were chosen because they have significances that suggests the possibility of existing living things. According to Geminale et al (2008), carbon dioxide, that composes most of the martian atmosphere, and hydrogen swept by solar wind can create water and methane. He also argued that with the spectrum analysis, it might be possible to trace the living things from the existence of water and methane in certain spots.…”