(Press-News.org) New research shows that atmospheric pressure fluctuations that pull gases up from underground could be responsible for releasing subsurface methane into Mars’ atmosphere; knowing when and where to look for methane can help the Curiosity rover search for signs of life.
“Understanding Mars’ methane variations has been highlighted by NASA’s Curiosity team as the next key step towards figuring out where it comes from,” said John Ortiz, a graduate student at Los Alamos National Laboratory who led the research team. “There are several challenges associated with meeting that goal, and a big one is knowing what time of a given sol (Martian day) is best for Curiosity to perform an atmospheric sampling experiment.”
The paper was published the week of Jan. 22 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
A primary focus of NASA’s Mars missions, including Curiosity and Perseverance, is to detect and understand past or present signs of life, such as methane. However, with the source of methane on Mars likely being underground, short-term variations in atmospheric methane levels have posed a research challenge.
To better understand Mars’ methane levels, Ortiz and his team used high-performance computing clusters to simulate how methane travels through networks of underground fractures and is released into the atmosphere, where it then mixes within the atmospheric column. They also modeled how methane is adsorbed onto the pores of rocks, which is a temperature-dependent process that may contribute to the methane level fluctuations.
Their simulations predicted methane pulses from the ground surface into the atmosphere just before the Martian sunrise in the planet’s northern summer season, which just recently ended. This corroborates previous rover data suggesting that methane levels fluctuated not only seasonally, but also daily.
This valuable data is helping inform the Curiosity rover’s ongoing sampling campaign.
“Our work suggests several key time windows for Curiosity to collect data. We think these offer the best chance of constraining the timing of methane fluctuations, and (hopefully) down the line bringing us closer to understanding where it comes from on Mars,” Ortiz said.
Paper: “Sub-diurnal methane variations on Mars driven by barometric pumping and planetary boundary layer evolution.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. DOI: 10.1029/2023JE008043
END
Atmospheric pressure changes could be driving Mars’ elusive methane pulses
Simulations will help Curiosity search for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet
2024-01-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New pieces in the puzzle of first life on Earth
2024-01-24
Microorganisms were the first forms of life on our planet. The clues are written in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks by geochemical and morphological traces, such as chemical compounds or structures that these organisms left behind. However, it is still not clear when and where life originated on Earth and when a diversity of species developed in these early microbial communities. Evidence is scarce and often disputed. Now, researchers led by the University of Göttingen and Linnӕus University in Sweden have uncovered key findings about the earliest forms of life. In rock ...
Post pandemic, US cardiovascular death rate continues upward trajectory
2024-01-24
Ann Arbor, January 24, 2024 – New research confirms what public health leaders have been fearing: the significant uptick in the cardiovascular disease (CVD) death rate that began in 2020 has continued. The continuing trend reverses improvements achieved in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce mortalities from heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death in the United States. The findings are reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier.
Investigators from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...
New model predicts how shoe properties affect a runner’s performance
2024-01-24
A good shoe can make a huge difference for runners, from career marathoners to couch-to-5K first-timers. But every runner is unique, and a shoe that works for one might trip up another. Outside of trying on a rack of different designs, there’s no quick and easy way to know which shoe best suits a person’s particular running style.
MIT engineers are hoping to change that with a new model that predicts how certain shoe properties will affect a runner’s performance.
The simple model incorporates ...
Sub-wavelength confinement of light demonstrated in indium phosphide nanocavity
2024-01-24
WASHINGTON — As we transition to a new era in computing, there is a need for new devices that integrate electronic and photonic functionalities at the nanoscale while enhancing the interaction between photons and electrons. In an important step toward fulfilling this need, researchers have developed a new III-V semiconductor nanocavity that confines light at levels below the so-called diffraction limit.
“Nanocavities with ultrasmall mode volumes hold great promise for improving a wide range of photonic ...
Laura M. Barzilai, JD, LLM, elected Chair of Board of Directors of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)
2024-01-24
NEW YORK— The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national, nonprofit whose mission is to advance and support healthy aging through biomedical research, is pleased to announce the election of Laura M. Barzilai, JD, LLM, as Chair of the Board of Directors.
Stephanie Lederman, EdM, AFAR Executive Director, shares: "The Board of Directors of AFAR unanimously elected Laura Barzilai as Chair in December 2023. For nearly a decade, her contributions as a board member, committee chair, ...
Talking tomatoes: How their communication is influenced by enemies and friends
2024-01-24
Plants produce a range of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds that influence their interactions with the world around them. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigated how the type and amount of these VOCs change based on different features of tomato plants.
The smell of cut grass is one of the defining fragrances of summer. Smells like that are one of the ways plants signal their injury. Because they cannot run away from danger, plants have evolved to communicate with each other using chemical signals. They use VOCs for a ...
Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, elected President of the Board of Directors of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)
2024-01-24
The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national, nonprofit whose mission is to advance and support healthy aging through biomedical research, is pleased to announce the election of Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, as President of the Board of Directors in December 2023.
Dr. Rando is currently the Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology at UCLA, where he is a professor of Neurology and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. Previously, he ...
Fast-charging lithium battery seeks to eliminate ‘range anxiety’
2024-01-24
ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University engineers have created a new lithium battery that can charge in under five minutes – faster than any such battery on the market – while maintaining stable performance over extended cycles of charging and discharging.
The breakthrough could alleviate “range anxiety” among drivers who worry electric vehicles cannot travel long distances without a time-consuming recharge.
“Range anxiety is a greater barrier to electrification in transportation than any of the other barriers, like cost and capability of batteries, and we have identified a pathway to eliminate it using rational electrode designs,” said Lynden ...
Chemistry professor R. Graham Cooks expands research of water droplet interfaces that offer the secret ingredient for building life
2024-01-24
R. Graham Cooks, the Henry B. Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and his postdoctoral researcher Lingqi Qiu have experimental evidence that the key step in protein formation can occur in droplets of pure water, and have recently published these findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
In this key step, amino acids are dehydrated (they lose water) even though they are in a water solution, a paradox that is resolved by the fact that these droplet surfaces are unusually dry and highly ...
Brain mechanism teaches mice to avoid bullies
2024-01-24
Like humans, mice live in complex social groups, fight over territory and mates, and learn when it is safer to avoid certain opponents. After losing even a brief fight, the defeated animals will flee from the mice that hurt them for weeks afterward, a new study shows.
Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study reveals that such “retreating behavior” is influenced by a distinct area on the underside of the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls hunger, sleep, and levels of many hormones. The team had previously found that this special region, called the anterior ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus (aVMHvl), ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Universal method unlocks entropy calculation for liquids
Induction effect of fluorine-grafted polymer-based electrolytes for high-performance lithium metal batteries
Intensity of opioid use appears to be higher in fentanyl era
'Adventurous’ vs ‘homebody’ anemonefish – research reveals key influences in diversification and evolution
Only Amazon MTurk’s ‘master’ workers provide reliable research data quality
Scientists find the first ice core from the European Alps that dates back to the last Ice Age
Yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging may be best forms of exercise for insomnia
Medical tourism for bariatric/weight reduction surgery needs urgent regulation
Funding for lifesaving global health programs forecasted to reach 15-year low, threatening to reverse decades of progress
Exercise could ease symptoms for people with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, but support and adequate guidance is lacking
Lost English legend decoded, solving Chaucerian mystery and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
Stigma driving depression in alopecia patients, rather than illness severity
Eyes on the prize: Decoding eye contact
Technician-led eye clinics could lead to more timely NHS care
University of Birmingham and CBMM partner to drive disruptive innovation in carbon recycling
New study reveals gendered language patterns in children’s television across 60 years
Ancient fault line poses future earthquake hazard in Canada’s North
Scientists uncover DNA secrets to bolster corn crop traits
Hidden bacterial redundancy could be antibiotic game-changer
New study reveals how corals teach their offspring to beat the heat
Understanding relationship development: Towards a more rigorous approach
Surgical stroke initiative targets deadliest brain bleeds
Understanding how the superfungus Candida auris withstands antifungal treatment
Call for papers: CPA special issue on polypharmacology in cancer therapy—overcoming resistance and enhancing efficacy
An alternative adhesive for wearable medical devices
Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to go to their treat. Why do some animals learn to interact with the bell instead?
Call for Young Editorial Board members at Current Molecular Pharmacology
MSU team develops scalable climate solutions for agricultural carbon markets
Playing an instrument may protect against cognitive aging
UNM study finds link between Grand Canyon landslide and Meteor Crater impact
[Press-News.org] Atmospheric pressure changes could be driving Mars’ elusive methane pulsesSimulations will help Curiosity search for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet