Reaction of methane and UV-activated perchlorate: Relevance to heterogeneous loss of methane in the atmosphere of Mars

The absence of significant detectable signatures of organic molecules in the atmosphere and on the surface of Mars is a major unsolved puzzle. One possible explanation is that perchlorate-rich Martian soils, activated by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, create an environment favorable for the rapid oxidation of organics such as alkanes (including methane or CH4). In this paper, we measured product formation rates from the methaneperchlorate-UV system at room temperature. Our results show that magnesium perchlorate (Mg(ClO4)(2)center dot 6H(2)O) surfaces exposed to UV light at wavelengths reaching the Mars' surface accelerate the decomposition of methane (CH4), resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile chlorine oxides. The production rates for CO2 and CO on UV-activated perchlorate surfaces are accelerated by a factor of 2.5 and 4.5, respectively, compared to those in the absence of perchlorate. In addition, with UV radiation exposure, perchlorate (ClO4-) decomposes to chlorate (ClO3-) and chlorine oxides. These results are incorporated into a simple box model to estimate the near-surface atmospheric methane lifetime. The model gives a lower bound of the lifetime on the order of hours to days, substantially shorter than similar to 300 yrs. calculated from methane loss by gas-phase chemistry alone.

Automated summary

The absence of organic molecules on Mars may be explained by the acceleration of methane decomposition and oxidation through the activation of perchlorate-rich Martian soils by ultraviolet radiation. This study demonstrates that UV-activated perchlorate surfaces can significantly increase the production rates of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and volatile chlorine oxides from methane.