Low temperature CH4 and CO2 clathrate hydrate near to mid-IR spectra

Abstract

AbstractThe physical behaviour of methane and carbon dioxide clathrate hydrates, specific crystallographic ice crystals are of major importance for the earth and may control the stability of gases in many astrophysical bodies such as the planets, comets and possibly interstellar grains. Such models claim they provide an alternative trapping mechanism modifying the absolute and relative composition of icy bodies and can be at the source of late time injection of gaseous species in planetary atmospheres. However, there is a clear need to detect them directly. We provide in this study the laboratory recorded signatures of clathrate hydrates in the near to mid-infrared for astrophysical remote detection. These laboratory experiments will in a near future allow to follow the kinetic formation by diffusion in dedicated experiments, another important step to implement, to understand and model their possible presence in space.