The 'abiotic' methane may hold clues about its presence elsewhere in the solar system, researchers say.
A huge source of methane has been discovered deep beneath the surface of Earth, sitting between the upper mantle and lower oceanic crust. The discovery is important as it could provide an insight into the hydrothermal vents that may have helped the planet's first life emerge. Researchers also argue it could be a source of hydrogen and methane on other planets in the solar system—"even those where liquid water is no longer present.
The methane appears to have formed by reactions between trapped water and olivine, a group of rock-forming minerals found in the planet's subsurface. When seawater moves through the deep ocean crust, it mixes with magma-hot olivine. When the mineral cools, the water is trapped inside and a chemical reaction takes place, leading to the formation of hydrogen and methane.
However, methane is also known to exist on the seafloor. It is released through deep-sea vents—geothermally heated fissures on Earth's crust. In 2016, scientists with the Ocean Exploration Trust discovered overHowever, the source of the seafloor methane has remained something of a mystery.
As well as helping to explain the origins of methane deep beneath Earth's surface, the study could also shed light on the presence of methane on other bodies in the solar system. For example, methane is known to exist on Mars and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus.
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