What's Adding Methane to Mars's Atmosphere Every Autumn?
Martian Methane Map NASAMethane disappears and regenerates every year, according to new study Methane concentrations on Mars change with the seasons as well as location, and the gas disappears within a Martian year, according to a new study by Italian scientists. The finding, developed over five Earth years using NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, adds to the ongoing debate about the nature of CH4 on Mars. Methane peaks during the fall in three regions: Tharsis, Elysium and Arabia Terrae. The biggest volcanoes on Mars are in Tharsis and Elysium, and vast amounts of water ice are buried beneath the sands of Arabia Terrae. Methane concentrations drop during winter, and grow so strong in summer that the gas spreads throughout Mars' thin atmosphere, according to Discovery News. Scientists led by Sergio Fonti of Italy's Universita del Salento studied about 3 million observations from the Mars Global Surveyor between July 1999 and October 2004,...