Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling

Abstract During its first seven years of operation, the Sample Analysis at Mars Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on board the Curiosity rover has detected seven methane spikes above a low background abundance in Gale crater. The methane spikes are likely sourced by surface emission within or around...

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Autores principales:	Y. Luo, M. A. Mischna, J. C. Lin, B. Fasoli, X. Cai, Y. L. Yung
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2021
Materias:	Mars methane back trajectory MSL TLS TGO Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/420e0bb444864c81b53e8d26dc64c8d2
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:420e0bb444864c81b53e8d26dc64c8d2
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:420e0bb444864c81b53e8d26dc64c8d22021-11-23T21:03:07ZMars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling2333-508410.1029/2021EA001915https://doaj.org/article/420e0bb444864c81b53e8d26dc64c8d22021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA001915https://doaj.org/toc/2333-5084Abstract During its first seven years of operation, the Sample Analysis at Mars Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on board the Curiosity rover has detected seven methane spikes above a low background abundance in Gale crater. The methane spikes are likely sourced by surface emission within or around Gale crater. Here, we use inverse Lagrangian modeling techniques to identify upstream emission regions on the Martian surface for these methane spikes at an unprecedented spatial resolution. Inside Gale crater, the northwestern crater floor casts the strongest influence on the detections. Outside Gale crater, the upstream regions common to all the methane spikes extend toward the north. The contrasting results from two consecutive TLS methane measurements performed on the same sol point to an active emission site to the west or the southwest of the Curiosity rover on the northwestern crater floor. The observed spike magnitude and frequency also favor emission sites on the northwestern crater floor, unless there are fast methane removal mechanisms at work, or either the methane spikes of TLS or the non‐detections of ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter cannot be trusted.Y. LuoM. A. MischnaJ. C. LinB. FasoliX. CaiY. L. YungAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)articleMarsmethaneback trajectoryMSLTLSTGOAstronomyQB1-991GeologyQE1-996.5ENEarth and Space Science, Vol 8, Iss 11, Pp n/a-n/a (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Mars methane back trajectory MSL TLS TGO Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5
spellingShingle	Mars methane back trajectory MSL TLS TGO Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5 Y. Luo M. A. Mischna J. C. Lin B. Fasoli X. Cai Y. L. Yung Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
description	Abstract During its first seven years of operation, the Sample Analysis at Mars Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on board the Curiosity rover has detected seven methane spikes above a low background abundance in Gale crater. The methane spikes are likely sourced by surface emission within or around Gale crater. Here, we use inverse Lagrangian modeling techniques to identify upstream emission regions on the Martian surface for these methane spikes at an unprecedented spatial resolution. Inside Gale crater, the northwestern crater floor casts the strongest influence on the detections. Outside Gale crater, the upstream regions common to all the methane spikes extend toward the north. The contrasting results from two consecutive TLS methane measurements performed on the same sol point to an active emission site to the west or the southwest of the Curiosity rover on the northwestern crater floor. The observed spike magnitude and frequency also favor emission sites on the northwestern crater floor, unless there are fast methane removal mechanisms at work, or either the methane spikes of TLS or the non‐detections of ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter cannot be trusted.
format	article
author	Y. Luo M. A. Mischna J. C. Lin B. Fasoli X. Cai Y. L. Yung
author_facet	Y. Luo M. A. Mischna J. C. Lin B. Fasoli X. Cai Y. L. Yung
author_sort	Y. Luo
title	Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
title_short	Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
title_full	Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
title_fullStr	Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
title_full_unstemmed	Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
title_sort	mars methane sources in northwestern gale crater inferred from back trajectory modeling
publisher	American Geophysical Union (AGU)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/420e0bb444864c81b53e8d26dc64c8d2
work_keys_str_mv	AT yluo marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling AT mamischna marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling AT jclin marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling AT bfasoli marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling AT xcai marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling AT ylyung marsmethanesourcesinnorthwesterngalecraterinferredfrombacktrajectorymodeling
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Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling

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