Mystery of methane on Mars deepens further

[UM-Bot]

Despite the detection of methane in 2003 and 2014, the latest findings have revealed no evidence of it at all.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/324327/mystery-of-methane-on-mars-deepens-further

[Torviking]

Could it just be that the windstorms gong on at the present time on mars have made it impossible to detect?

Edited December 23, 2018 by Torviking

[Waspie_Dwarf]

24 minutes ago, Torviking said:

Could it just be that the windstorms gong on at the present time on mars have made it impossible to detect?

The sandstorm has subsided. It would not remove methane from the atmosphere, so if it was still there, it should still be detectable.

[+DanL]

Maybe Martians don't fart very often...

[Nnicolette]

My first thought was could it freeze? But its not quite cold enough on mars. You know what easily absorbs methane though? Plant life.

[SD455GTO]

6 hours ago, DanL said:

Maybe Martians don't fart very often...

Yes, of course, much like most women on earth who claim to NEVER fart at all.

Edited December 24, 2018 by SD455GTO
spelling

[Waspie_Dwarf]

4 hours ago, Nnicolette said:

My first thought was could it freeze? But its not quite cold enough on mars. 

Even if it was cold enough deposits of frozen methane on the surface would probably be easier to spot than trace amounts of gas in the atmosphere. 

4 hours ago, Nnicolette said:

You know what easily absorbs methane though? Plant life.

Do you know what is a SOURCE of methane? Plant life.

[keithisco]

Trees also absorb methane on Earth ( Source: ) and I'm betting that serpentinization production of methane (needs H2O) is the more likely as the peaks have been observed during Mars summer

[Nnicolette]

4 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Even if it was cold enough deposits of frozen methane on the surface would probably be easier to spot than trace amounts of gas in the atmosphere. 

Do you know what is a SOURCE of methane? Plant life.

Yes i know it isnt cold enough to freeze methane there it and that it would still be there it was just the first possible explanation i explored.

Also im guessing to be elusive the plant life may be more akin to bacteria than to tree trunks that can release some of the methane that plants generally absorb. You are citing that it is possible for plants to release methane which means the spikes would be encompassed by this possibility. If there are plants and they release a bit during a particular season but also are capable of reabsorbing it as plants do earth, then we would have a fitting explanation for the entire phenomena.

[thelion318]

OK let's ignore -80 average temperature, the .1% (20% on earth) oxygen level, the 95%CO2 level (on earth it's 0.0391) and the barren wasteland we've seen from satellites as well as rovers and pretend it's a place with plant life for us all to live on after we destroy earth.  

[keithisco]

3 hours ago, thelion318 said:

OK let's ignore -80 average temperature, the .1% (20% on earth) oxygen level, the 95%CO2 level (on earth it's 0.0391) and the barren wasteland we've seen from satellites as well as rovers and pretend it's a place with plant life for us all to live on after we destroy earth.  

Rather than "pretend" why not look at the extremophiles here on earth and then ask whether life is possible on Mars. Life may exist there at extreme depths where temperatures are higher and atmospheric pressure higher. Anaerobic bacteria may well thrive in such environments so your focusing on the surface of Mars is not entirely with merit. Plants can be single celled or multi cellular higher forms may be irrelevant to the seasonal production of methane (if that is what it is) and a lack of understanding of the ways that life pre-dominates is not a sufficient premise on which to base your "argument".

[cyclopes500]

It wouldn't be from fragments from that comet that went past Mars would it. I'm picturing gas filled ice boulders part melting and refreezing. Remember Mars atmosphere is extremely thin and they'd get through. Also if I remember rightly the satellites were moved behind the planet to avoid a possible debris trail following it. The craft might not have detected it. The other thing I'm thinking about is the other old Viking landers and the retro stuff inside the failed Russian stuff. It wouldn't be propellants leaking from them and changing once they encounter Mars soil. Lastly I'm wondering if the Russian stuff was decontaminated properly before launch. Russia is a very cold country at times and I'm wondering if extreme cold adapted Russian bacteria have since gained a foothold.