Methane Clathrates in the Solar System
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2015-04 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Mousis Olivier1, 2, Chassefiere Eric3, Holm Nils G.4, Bouquet Alexis5, 6, Waite Jack Hunter6, Geppert Wolf Dietrich7, Picaud Sylvain2, Aikawa Yuri8, Ali-Dib Mohamad2, Charlou Jean-Luc9, Rousselot Philippe2 | ||||||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LAM, UMR 7326, Marseille, France. 2 : Univ Franche Comte, Inst UTINAM, CNRS INSU, UMR 6213,Observ Sci Univers THETA, F-25030 Besancon, France. 3 : Univ Paris 11, CNRS, Lab GEOPS, UMR 8148, F-91405 Orsay, France. 4 : Stockholm Univ, Dept Geol Sci, Geochem Sect, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden. 5 : Univ Texas San Antonio, Dept Phys & Astron, San Antonio, TX USA. 6 : SW Res Inst, Space Sci & Engn Div, San Antonio, TX USA. 7 : Stockholm Univ, Dept Phys, AlbaNova Univ Ctr, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden. 8 : Kobe Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Kobe, Hyogo 657, Japan. 9 : IFREMER Ctr Brest, Dept Geosci Marines, Plouzane, France. |
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| Source | Astrobiology (1531-1074) (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc), 2015-04 , Vol. 15 , N. 4 , P. 308-326 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1089/ast.2014.1189 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 52 | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | We review the reservoirs of methane clathrates that may exist in the different bodies of the Solar System. Methane was formed in the interstellar medium prior to having been embedded in the protosolar nebula gas phase. This molecule was subsequently trapped in clathrates that formed from crystalline water ice during the cooling of the disk and incorporated in this form into the building blocks of comets, icy bodies, and giant planets. Methane clathrates may play an important role in the evolution of planetary atmospheres. On Earth, the production of methane in clathrates is essentially biological, and these compounds are mostly found in permafrost regions or in the sediments of continental shelves. On Mars, methane would more likely derive from hydrothermal reactions with olivine-rich material. If they do exist, martian methane clathrates would be stable only at depth in the cryosphere and sporadically release some methane into the atmosphere via mechanisms that remain to be determined. In the case of Titan, most of its methane probably originates from the protosolar nebula, where it would have been trapped in the clathrates agglomerated by the satellite's building blocks. Methane clathrates are still believed to play an important role in the present state of Titan. Their presence is invoked in the satellite's subsurface as a means of replenishing its atmosphere with methane via outgassing episodes. The internal oceans of Enceladus and Europa also provide appropriate thermodynamic conditions that allow formation of methane clathrates. In turn, these clathrates might influence the composition of these liquid reservoirs. Finally, comets and Kuiper Belt Objects might have formed from the agglomeration of clathrates and pure ices in the nebula. The methane observed in comets would then result from the destabilization of clathrate layers in the nuclei concurrent with their approach to perihelion. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations show that methane-rich clathrate layers may exist on Pluto as well. Key Words: Methane clathrate-Protosolar nebula-Terrestrial planets-Outer Solar System. | ||||||||||||
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