Recently in August, a new study was posted under the Geology
News website that proposed large methane reservoirs under Antarctic ice sheets. From researching Methane I discovered many traits that the compound has.
Methane is a greenhouse gas and is tetrahedral. I found that Methane is a parent group to Alkane. I
also discovered that methane is a colorless gas that has a density of 655.6
mL. Its melting point is -182 degrees Celsius
and its boiling point is in between -164 and -160 degrees Celsius. It is
considered an organic compound on Earth.
The study records that old organic matter in sedimentary
landforms that are located under the Antarctic Ice Sheet may have been converted to
methane. This is resulted by micro-organisms living beneath oxygen-deprived
conditions. It is thought that the methane could expose old sediments if the
ice sheets shrink.
Wow, I wonder what we could find in those exposed sediments if scientists could get to it. Fossil discoveries? New means of harvesting methane? New organic life?Who knows, but this excites me!
ReplyDelete