Methane Transport through simulated Mars Regoliths

Details Methane Transport through simulated Mars Regoliths Methane Transport through simulated Mars Regoliths

Oct 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.2417s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #24.17; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.457

Biology

Scientific paper

We present results from experiments that measure the rates of diffusion of methane through various simulated Mars regoliths. Data are presented for a number of different simulants, including Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS), at temperatures between 243 K and 283 K and with varying amounts of water ice present in the samples. As the water ice content of frozen regolith is increased, the characteristic transport time for methane increases. Recent observations with ground-based observatories and the Mars Express spacecraft have been made of methane in the Martian atmosphere with abundances varying from 0 to 35 ppb. The variable concentrations and a short lifetime of 340 years, based on gas-phase chemistry calculations, argue for an indigenous (and current) source of the methane. If the source of the methane is subsurface (either though volcanism, biology, or clathrate) the gas must diffuse through the crust. Studying this diffusion can result in a preliminary understanding of the conditions present in the crust. That is, as the pore space available for diffusion becomes filled by water ice, methane migration through it may be restricted, causing the methane to diffuse horizontally until a dry region (with larger pore spaces) is reached where vertical migration resumes. The object of the current work is to characterize the diffusion coefficient to better understand locations of potential sources. Without a clear knowledge of how methane is transported through the Martian crust, it is unclear that one can understand the location and extent of a subsurface source knowing only the atmospheric distribution. Future work will concentrate on diffusion through saturated regolith that has been stressed to create fractures and fissures. This work should help planners of future Mars missions determine the best locations to seek sources of methane under the surface. This work was supported by internal funding at NGC and JPL.

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