SETI public: Oliviine weathering may be the culprit for the Mars Methane

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http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2005/06/07a.html

In their paper published online in May in the American Geophysical Union's
journal, Geophysical Research Letters, Sharma and Oze describe how methane
on Mars can be made from abiotic, or non-living, sources. When water
containing dissolved carbon dioxide comes in contact with olivine, it
produces hydrogen, which then combines with carbon dioxide to produce
methane. The authors contend that olivine is abundant on Mars at shallow
depths, and it could easily react with fluids just beneath the surface.

"Most methane on Earth is produced by bacteria, and methane has been cited
as an indicator of life on other planets," explains Sharma. "However, we
show in our paper that the mineral olivine can be altered in the presence of
water and carbon dioxide, which can produce copious quantities of methane.
It's quite easy to do, and there is nothing bacterial about it. If there is
life on Mars, I would like to see better evidence than methane."

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