ASTROBIOLOGY Volume 17, Number xx, 2017 Review Article Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1657 Methane Seepage on Mars: Where to Look and Why Dorothy Z. Oehler1 and Giuseppe Etiope2 Abstract Methane on Mars is a topic of special interest because of its potential association with microbial life. The variable detections of methane by the Curiosity rover, orbiters, and terrestrial telescopes, coupled with meth- ane’s short lifetime in the martian atmosphere, may imply an active gas source in the planet’s subsurface, with migration and surface emission processes similar to those known on Earth as ‘‘gas seepage.’’ Here, we review the variety of subsurface processes that could result in methane seepage on Mars. Such methane could originate from abiotic chemical reactions, thermogenic alteration of abiotic or biotic organic matter, and ancient or extant microbial metabolism. These processes can occur over a wide range of temperatures, in both sedimentary and igneous rocks, and together they enhance the possibility that significant amounts of methane could have formed on early Mars. Methane seepage to the surface would occur preferentially along faults and fractures, through focused macro-seeps and/or diffuse microseepage exhalations. Our work highlights the types of features on Mars that could be associated with methane release, including mud-volcano-like mounds in Acidalia or Utopia; proposed ancient springs in Gusev Crater, Arabia Terra, and Valles Marineris; and rims of large impact craters. These could have been locations of past macro-seeps and may still emit methane today. Microseepage could occur through faults along the dichotomy or fractures such as those at Nili Fossae, Cerberus Fossae, the Argyre impact, and those produced in serpentinized rocks. Martian microseepage would be extremely difficult to detect remotely yet could constitute a significant gas source. We emphasize that the most definitive detection of methane seepage from different release candidates would be best provided by measurements performed in the ground or at the ground-atmosphere interface by landers or rovers and that the technology for such detection is currently available. Key Words: Mars—Methane—Seepage—Clathrate—Fischer-Tropsch—Serpentinization. Astrobiology 17, xxx–xxx. 1. Introduction and by previous orbiter and Earth-based telescopic obser- vations (e.g., Mumma et al., 2009; Fonti and Marzo, 2010; he existence of methane (CH4) on Mars is a topic of Geminale et al., 2011; Webster et al., 2015, 2016; Roos- Tprimary interest in planetary exploration because of its Serote et al., 2016). Methane was also reported in martian potential link to microbial metabolic activity. Methane can be meteorites (e.g., Blamey et al., 2015). The fact that CH4 is generated by, and can provide energy (as an electron donor) estimated to have a relatively short lifetime in the martian to, microbial communities (e.g., Schulte et al., 2006). Me- atmosphere (about 300 years but potentially as short as thane, like other gases that can be produced in deep rocks, can 200 days or even a few hours near the surface; Lefe`vre and also be a proxy for dynamic geologic and subsurface fluid- Forget, 2009), coupled with its varying abundance, may circulation processes. imply an active gas source in the planet’s subsurface that Downloaded by California Institute Of Technology from online.liebertpub.com at 08/07/17. For personal use only. Spatially and temporally varying CH4, with concentra- periodically releases CH4 to the atmosphere. Methane could tions ranging from 0.2 to 60 ppbv, has been detected in the be generated in trace amounts above the martian surface martian atmosphere by the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater (possibly due to electrical discharges near iced ground 1Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, USA. 2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma 2, Roma, Italy, and Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. ª Dorothy Z. Oehler and Giuseppe Etiope, 2017; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. 1 2 OEHLER AND ETIOPE [Robledo-Martinez et al., 2012] or UV irradiation [Section illustrations of key global features discussed; and Fig. 3, a 3.2.4]), but as is the case on Earth, larger amounts could be global map showing locations of figures in this paper. produced in the martian subsurface by a wide array of gas generation processes. Subsurface sources could be releasing 2. Gas Seepage Fundamentals either present-day methane or methane formed in the past 2.1. Definitions and mechanisms and subsequently stored in clathrates, zeolites, or reservoir- quality rocks trapped below sealing lithologies. The possi- In Earth sciences, the term ‘‘gas seepage’’ is used to bility of active subsurface sources of martian CH4 implies indicate a steady or episodic, slow or rapid flow of gas- the existence of a gas migration process known on Earth as eous hydrocarbons from subsurface sources to the surface ‘‘gas seepage.’’ Accordingly, in this paper, we concentrate (Etiope, 2015). In the petroleum geochemistry literature, the on the subsurface mechanisms that could account for mar- term ‘‘seepage’’ refers to hydrocarbon fluids, gas, and oil, tian CH4, including its generation, storage, and seepage to where gases are composed mainly of methane, with subor- the surface, as well as the likely physical manifestations of dinate amounts of heavier alkanes (ethane, propane, and that seepage on the surface of the planet. butane). These gases are formed in sedimentary rocks We address these processes in detail, as some readers may mainly through decomposition (microbial or thermogenic) be unfamiliar with the extensive body of knowledge of of organic matter. ‘‘Seepage’’ has also been used with ref- subsurface CH4 generation and migration from the petro- erence to exhalations of abiotic methane formed in igneous leum industry or the in-depth information on terrestrial (ultramafic) serpentinized rocks (e.g., Etiope, 2015; Etiope methane seeps accumulated from decades of studies. For et al., 2016), through inorganic reactions such as FTT example, because CH4 content is low in volcanic emissions, synthesis (e.g., Etiope and Sherwood Lollar, 2013). some have concluded that a geologic CH4 source would not Detailed description and classification of gas seepage be important for Mars (e.g., Krasnopolsky, 2005). Such processes on Earth, as well as their implications for resource conclusions neglect the array of geologic processes that exploration, atmospheric greenhouse gas budget, and the en- could produce CH4 on Mars. Similarly, clathrates occa- vironment, are reported in a wide body of literature (e.g., Link, sionally have been misconceived as potential origins for 1952; Hovland and Judd, 1988; Kopf, 2002; Etiope et al., martian methane. Yet clathrates are only a storage mecha- 2009; Etiope and Klusman, 2010; Etiope, 2015; Mazzini and nism for CH4, and the question of the derivation of that CH4 Etiope, 2017, and references therein). Terrestrial gas seepage remains. Here, we address the scope of potential CH4 gen- does not refer to geothermal or volcanic H2O- or CO2-rich gas eration processes for Mars, including some processes not manifestations (e.g., fumaroles, mofettes, and geysers) where generally recognized, and we clarify details of serpentini- hydrocarbons are a minor component. Accordingly, we do not zation and Fischer-Tropsch-type (FTT) reactions. We fur- use the term ‘‘seepage’’ for volcanic emissions, although we ther discuss criteria for trapping or storing subsurface CH4 discuss this form of degassing. Like terrestrial seepage, and on Mars as well as factors that could control CH4 seepage to according to the general theory of gas migration in geologic the martian surface, the types of surface manifestations that media (e.g., MacElvain, 1969; Malmqvist and Kristiansson, might reflect that seepage, and whether seepage could ac- 1985; Brown, 2000; Etiope and Martinelli, 2002), methane in count for the various CH4 detections on Mars. We conclude subsurface martian rocks should move preferably via advec- by combining all the above to identify sites or regions on tion, that is, in flow driven by pressure gradients and controlled Mars that may be prime candidates for methane release and by permeability (Darcy’s law). Diffusion, the slow motion of may be priority targets for orbital scans (such as by the gas molecules driven by concentration gradients (Fick’s law), ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter) and for landed, ground-based is important only at small scales, in low-permeability porous analysis (using optimum seepage-detection methods) in fu- media and over long geologic time scales. Modeling studies ture missions. have also suggested that diffusion cannot explain the methane This work is divided into the following Sections: plumes and concentration variations observed on Mars (Ste- vens et al., 2015, 2017). On Earth, pressurized gas can occur in Section 2: Gas seepage fundamentals (definitions, both fine-grained rocks and in coarse-grained, reservoir rocks mechanisms, surface manifestations, and fluxes on Earth) (which are porous and permeable and sealed by impermeable Section 3: Methane generation mechanisms strata such as shales, permafrost, and salt). Reservoir rocks Section 4: Potential sites and timing of methane host gas produced in source rocks (or the ‘‘kitchen’’ as used in generation on Mars petroleum literature). Subsequent gas seepage can start from Section 5: Potential sites of methane accumulation either gas-rich, fine-grained source rocks or, more frequently, on Mars from pressurized reservoirs. Seepage occurs preferentially Section 6: Seepage pathways on Mars (from sites of Downloaded by California Institute Of Technology from online.liebertpub.com at 08/07/17. For personal use only. through permeable pathways, such as faults and fractures and generation or accumulation to the surface) in breaches in sealing lithologies.