[extropy-chat] Deep-earth methane generation

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Paul <p.c.vanvidum at gmail.com> wrote:
> * Some methane gas sources are certainly *not* of biological origin.
> 
> > 
> > The latest support for Gold comes from experiments by H. Scot,
> Indiana
> > University, who subjected water and marble to the environment
> expected
> > at depths of 12 miles and more. Sure enough, the water's hydrogen
> combined
> > with the marble's carbon to form methane (CH4).
> > 
> > Such abiotic processes could provide us with "fossil" fuels for
> millennia.
> 
> 
> I wonder if the same or similar process is responsible martian
> methane, rather than sub-surface biology.

Marble is a rock that metamorphoses from limestone under pressure and
heat. Limestone is created by corals sequestering CO2 and H20. Ergo, if
methane emissions on Mars exist, and are not presently caused by
current day biological processes, then the alternative is that they are
from marbles that were once limestones, which were once corals. Mars
does have a significant amount of carbonates beyond just limestone,
which many geologists insist are abiotic in origins. I don't know. We
will see.

Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com