Quote:
Originally Posted by borman
A signal that is too weak for direct detection by the orbiters is a setback. But perhaps they might still be useful in searching for a kind of "fossil" evidence tracing the methane destruction chemistry.
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I agree. There may be surface features indicative of venting - collapse pits for instance. there may be deep fractures.
There should be reduced mineral species in some abundance - siderite, anderite, sulphides, poorly ordered chlorite, for example. There may even be degraded organics like tholins or pyrobitumens. These should have distinctive spectral signatures and may leave dark halos roiund the morphological features.
Jon