Tiny Bubbles: Oldest Evidence Yet for Methane Makers

ScienceNews ^ | 3/25/2006 | S. Perkins

[furball4paws]

Researchers in Denmark have discovered that methane trapped in quartz crystals in microbial in origin and dates to about 3.5 billion years ago. This places methanogens among the oldest living things found on Earth.

[furball4paws]

How old is the oldest thing. Fossil microbes at 3.6 billion years and now evidence formethanogens from the same era. Another reason for expecting methane in the precambrian atmosphere.

[furball4paws]

really old ping.

[DrNo]

Pre-Cambrian flatulence?

[A.Hun]

Very small bathtub?

[ahayes]

I'd say unimaginably old!

[Toby06]

Geez, and I though my granddaddy was an old fart!

[calex59]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't methane found on one of Jupiter's moons with no organic material to account for it? Just asking!

[dblshot]

One methanogen says to another, "Geez, was that big bang you?"

[Rudder]

Found in abundance on Saturn's moon, Titan.

[js1138]

Methane and sulphate. Yum.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Hmmm!

[joesnuffy]

Ohh that's what in the 'crystals' forming a ring in my bathtub...trapped methane bubbles....


who knew?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

************************************AN EXCERPT *************************************

Analyses of the gases dissolved in water trapped in ancient minerals suggest that methane-generating microbes have been around almost 3.5 billion years, more than 700 million years longer than previous geologic evidence had indicated. Because methane prevents the loss of heat from Earth, the gas generated by those microbes could explain how the planet kept warm during the Archaean era even though the sun then produced less than three-fourths the radiation that it does today.

****************************************

Global Warming explained also?????>>>.......hmmmmmm!!!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[TexasCajun]

[ElkGroveDan]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't methane found on one of Jupiter's moons with no organic material to account for it? Just asking!

Good question.... From the article:

Although methane produced via one method is chemically indistinguishable from that produced by the others, the ratio of carbon isotopes found in a sample of methane provides a clue to its source, ... Methane from biological sources contains less carbon-13 than does methane from nonbiological sources.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Tiny Bubbles: Oldest Evidence Yet for Methane Makers

I thought Don Ho made music, not methane...

[furball4paws]

I believe that I've read that recently, perhaps one our Astro guys has a better handle on this.

This methane is distinguished from chemically formed methane by its C¹²/C¹³ ratio.

[PatrickHenry]

Interesting. Think it warrants deployment of the list?

[Red Badger]

Microbial fossil farts?........