Methane Archives

Sediment core sampling procedure adapted from the expedition’s press release (Schmidt Ocean Institute, SOI), licensed under CC BY 4.0 -- CAB

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Sulfur-dependent Ecosystem In A Gas Vent In The Depths Of The Chilean Pacific

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Unlike most similar emanations described to date, this one shows no evidence of methane emission or consumption. The absence of this molecule and its abundance of sulfur make it a […]

B335 intensity map at 8 µm using the JWST MIRI-MRS spectrograph data. Small circles denote the 1.53′′ apertures, big circle denotes the 4.59′′ aperture. The center coordinates of chosen apertures are listed in Table 2. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Status Report

Infrared Spectra Of Methane-containing Ice Mixtures For JWST Data Analysis

by Keith CowingFebruary 19, 2026February 19, 2026

Context. Solid methane (CH4) is an important molecule in interstellar and planetary environments, serving as a precursor to complex organic compounds and a potential biosignature in exoplanetary studies. Despite its […]

Top: Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) model and 2σ credible regions from ExoTR retrievals on the fiducial reduction, overlaid with data binned at ∆λ = 0.05 µm. Also shown are the contributions from each molecule and clouds to the transmission spectrum. Bottom: 1D histograms of the posterior distributions from the retrieval results, including the median and ±1σ uncertainties (i.e. 16th and 84th percentiles).-- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report

Methane On The Temperate Exo-Saturn TOI-199b

by Keith CowingNovember 28, 2025November 28, 2025

Temperate (Teq<400 K) gas giants represent an unexplored frontier in exoplanet atmospheric spectroscopy. Orbiting a G-type star every ~100 days, the Saturn-mass exoplanet TOI-199 b (Teq=350 K) is one of […]

Researchers have long been interested in Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and its icy environment, which harbours lakes, seas, sand dunes and a thick atmosphere full of nitrogen, methane, and complex carbon-based chemistry. Titan share some commonality with the early evolution of our planet and may therefore give researchers clues to the origin of life. Credit NASA-JPL-Space Science Institute

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Titan

Unexpected Discovery On Titan Challenges Our View On Chemistry Before Life Emerged

by Keith CowingOctober 17, 2025October 17, 2025

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the US space agency NASA have made an unexpected discovery that challenges one of the basic rules of chemistry and provides […]

Professor Praveen Linga and his research team, Yunhan Ma (left) and Dr Ye Zhang (middle), at their lab, where the amino-acid-modified ice technology was developed. Credit College of Design and Engineering at NUS.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Ice Mixed With Amino Acids Stores Methane In Minutes

by Keith CowingOctober 3, 2025October 3, 2025

If you have ever cooked on a gas stove or seen a flame flicker to life with the turn of a knob, you have seen natural gas in action. Supplying […]

A summary of the influencing factors on the clumped isotope values of methanogenesis. The points on this figure show the average measured and “pure” clumped isotope values of each methanogenic pathway. The arrows show the processes that can influence the clumped isotope signatures, and the gray area shows the microbial methanogenesis field defined by the previous studies. Environmental Science & Technology via PubMed

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

The Clumped Isotope Signatures of Multiple Methanogenic Metabolisms

by Keith CowingJuly 28, 2025July 28, 2025

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, an important energy source, and an important part of the global carbon cycle. The relative abundances of doubly substituted (“clumped”) methane isotopologues (13CH3D and […]

Mars Curiosity rover Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Questioning the Reliability of Methane Detections on Mars by the Curiosity Rover

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2025

Over the past decade, the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on NASA’s Curiosity rover has reported several detections of methane on Mars, attracting attention due to the potential astrobiological implications of […]

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Impacts Into Titan’s Methane-clathrate Crust As A Source Of Atmospheric Methane

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2025March 27, 2025

Titan is the only icy satellite in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. This atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen with a few percent methane, which supports an active, […]

NASA image of Titan using the Cassini VIMS (visual and infrared mapping spectrometer) instrument. One impact crater is visible near the center. The dark areas near the equator are organic-rich sand dunes, and the dark areas in the north polar region are liquid methane/ethane lakes. White clouds are also visible in the northern hemisphere. -- Credit NASA/ Cassini VIMS

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Titan Has An Insulating Methane-rich Crust Up To Six Miles Thick

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2024November 25, 2024

Saturn’s largest moon Titan is the only place other than Earth known to have an atmosphere and liquids in the form of rivers, lakes and seas on its surface. Because […]

Panel a: spatial distribution of 95th percentile values of ice contingency (at depth >5 m; light blue shaded area) and of Th concentration (yellow shaded area labeled with capital letters). Dashed red rectangles delimit the most seismically active regions according to the InSight mission (Ceylan et al., 2023). Panel b: intersection of the two previous maps. Yellow and red shaded areas (labeled with A and B) show the regions where values of both the 95th percentile and 99th percentile of Cv(5, long,lat) and [Th](long,lat) coincide. The faint white dots show the spatial distribution of pitted cones structures (modified from Mills et al., 2024). The black dots show the spatial distribution of candidate and confirmed SRLs according to Mcewen et al., (2021); Stilmann et al., (2016), and Oijha et al., (2014). The red dot shows the McLaughlin Crater with exposed carbonate rocks and signs of groundwater activity (Michalski et al., 2013). Gray in the background shows the Mars topography based on MOLA -- astro-ph.E

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mercury, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Potential Habitability of Present-day Mars Subsurface for Terrestrial-like Methanogens

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2024November 25, 2024

The intense debate about the presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere has stimulated the study of methanogens adapted to terrestrial habitats that mimic Martian environments.

Methane

New Sulfur-dependent Ecosystem In A Gas Vent In The Depths Of The Chilean Pacific

Infrared Spectra Of Methane-containing Ice Mixtures For JWST Data Analysis

Methane On The Temperate Exo-Saturn TOI-199b

Unexpected Discovery On Titan Challenges Our View On Chemistry Before Life Emerged

Ice Mixed With Amino Acids Stores Methane In Minutes

The Clumped Isotope Signatures of Multiple Methanogenic Metabolisms

Questioning the Reliability of Methane Detections on Mars by the Curiosity Rover

Impacts Into Titan’s Methane-clathrate Crust As A Source Of Atmospheric Methane

Titan Has An Insulating Methane-rich Crust Up To Six Miles Thick

Potential Habitability of Present-day Mars Subsurface for Terrestrial-like Methanogens

Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Also Created A Dust Cloud That Insulated Earth, Charbroiling Cretaceous Creatures

Current Water Trapping Micro-habitats On The Surface Of Mars

Methanotrophy Under Extreme Alkalinity In A Serpentinizing System

ANDES, The High-resolution Spectrograph Oof The ELT: Simulated Performance Of The CORO Module And Overview Of The High-contrast Capabilities For Exoplanet Observations

When Polymers Meet Primitive Membranes: How Molecular Cooperation May Have Helped Life Begin