Using Earth-based telescopes, researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have confirmed that in the late summer of 2003, almost 21,000 tons of methane gas was released from localized areas on the western hemisphere of Mars.A finding of extraterrestrial methane is significant because the gas is associated with life here on Earth, either as byproducts of digestion or decaying biomatter. As a waste product of life processes, it may also serve as a food source for other forms of life. With past studies finding no regular methane content in the Martian atmosphere, the sudden presence and quick dispersion of the gas could indicate an organic origin.
Similar methane appearances are found in some parts of Earth's oceans as decaying life on the sea floor releases a "belch" of gas. Other sources of methane are the presence of microbial life, possibly living in or beneath the Martian soil. Methane-producing microbes have been found in extreme Earth environments such as Arctic soil and volcanic vents.
Nonorganic sources of methane are also possible, involving volcanic processes or the mixture of water, carbon dioxide and other chemicals. Trapped underground, these gasses could be released through surface fissures as the pressure increases.
These results were published online in the January 15th edition of Science.
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