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This paper refines model predictions for the production of methane fromUV-irradiated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) now that the RoverEnvironmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument onboard the Mars ScienceLaboratory (MSL) Rover has made the first measurements of the UV environment onthe surface of Mars, at Gale Crater. Once these measurements are included in aUV radiative transfer model, we find that modelled UV sol-integrated energiesacross the planet are lower than pre-measurement estimates by 35% on average,considering all latitudes and seasons. This reduction, in turn, reduces thepredicted production of methane from individual accreting IDPs, extending theirlifetimes and increasing the surface concentration of organics that mustaccumulate in order to emit sufficient methane to balance the accretion oforganic compounds to Mars. Emission from reasonable accumulations of IDPs couldrange up to ~7.9x10^-4 ppbv sol^-1. Richer deposits of organic carbon at thesurface may emit methane at no more than 3.9 ppbv sol^-1. An examination ofIDP-derived methane production during atmospheric settling indicates that nomore than 0.32% of organic carbon from meteor streams may be deposited in theatmosphere. Thus, such a process cannot explain either the spikes observed inmethane nor the low equilibrium values observed by MSL. Instead, thisdiscrepancy may be explained if < 80 tons per year of organic carbon survivesto the surface, the atmospheric lifetime of methane is < 110 years or theefficiency of the UV-CH4 process is < 7%. Under the assumption of reducedcarbon input cycling in the Martian system from these processes, both soilconcentrations of organic carbon and atmospheric measurements of methaneobserved by MSL are consistent with the UV-CH4 process. This refinement ofmethane production from IDPs and its geographical and vertical... <abstractcontinues in paper>.

UV production of methane from surface and sedimenting IDPs on Mars in light of REMS data and with insights for TGO