Green Cloud passes over the Martian Surface

[exuberant1]

Green Dust Cloud on Mars! Oh My!


I just found it this morning. No one has noticed the green cloud yet- or is it a mist! :o

http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/99fc9c7e884a.jpg

http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/af68d67cb259.jpg

image name: Seminole_L257atc-A677R1


***Update: Here is a 15.5mb version of the image. The one used for the above images was 60 mb, but this one is sufficient:

http://linformazione.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/husbandhill.jpg

[truth finder]

i will say its very strange, and i would have no idea to what it is. could it be vegitaion like an oasis?

[exuberant1]

i will say its very strange, and i would have no idea to what it is. could it be vegitaion like an oasis?

Perhaps it is the martian`Blueberries` releasing their Spores. :)

Nevertheless, the cloud is green and that colour is associated with chlorphyll.

It could be that we are seeing small airborne plants being blown about.

*There are many species on earth which include as a part of their lifecycle and reproductive process, a duration of time spent airborne. There are also species of bacteria which spend the majority of their lives just blowing in the wind.

[exuberant1]

It has recently been brought to my attention by a qualified source that what we are seeing here could be methane emissions...

More specifically, and due to the environment on Mars, the methane was likely produced by Anaerobic decomposition. (The high Co2 content of the Martian atmosphere greatly reduces the probability that this methane was produced by aerobic processes.)

Anaerobic decomposition creates combustible methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, slight amount of other gases, a small amount of heat and a sort of `slurry-like residue which has a greater nitrogen content than the residue created by aerobic decomposition processes.

Anaerobic decomposition takes place in two stages as certain micro-organisms feed on organic materials. First off, acid-producing bacteria break the various organic molecules down into simpler sugars, alcohol, glycerol and peptides. Then a second group of bacteria converts some of the simpler molecules into methane. It looks like this may be occurring on Mars and is probably responsible for the methane emissions pictured in the OP.