Gas-Solid Interactions In The Atmosphere Of Mars And
Their Effect On Methane And Trace-Gas Evolution
J.E. Moores1
1
Centre For Research In Earth And Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada (Jmoores@Yorku.Ca)
Introduction: Recent Observations Of The Evolution Of Trace Gasses Near The Surface Of Mars Have
Suggested A Puzzle In Atmospheric Chemistry. Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide And Methane All Increase And
Decrease Over The Year In A Similar Way (E.G. Trainer
Et Al., 2019), Which Is Unexpected Of Such Different
Chemical Species. Meanwhile, Concentrations Of Methane In The Near-Surface Atmosphere (Webster Et Al.,
2015; 2021) Suggest More Production Of The Gas Than
Can Reasonably Be Destroyed By Known Mechanisms.
Several Groups Have Posited A Fast-Destruction
Mechanism To Account For This Imbalance In Production And Destruction Of Methane And The Strange Behavior Of Other Gasses. Tantalizingly, Many Of The
Proposed Mechanisms Rely On Gas-Solid Interactions
Either With Airborne Dust Or Other Surface Materials.
For Instance, Jensen Et Al. (2014) Have Proposed
Chemisorption Of Methane Onto Grain Surfaces.
Meanwhile Thøgersen Et Al (2019) Have Proposed
Triboelectric Destruction Of Methane Between Grains