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Similarities between Europa and Greenland ice sheets provide clues.
Europa’s icy crust holds new surprises for scientists. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
Researchers have revealed new insight into the geology of Jupiter’s moon Europa, described by NASA as one of the most promising locations in our solar system for present-day extraterrestrial life.
Scientists strongly suspect that Europa, one of an estimated 79 moons orbiting the planet Jupiter, harbours liquid water in the form of a large saltwater ocean beneath a frozen icy crust. Europa’s ice “shell” is estimated to be 20-30 kilometres thick.
In a paper published today in Nature Communications, a research team led by Riley Culberg of Stanford University, US, presents evidence that shallow liquid water also exists much closer to Europa’s surface, within the ice shell.
Europa’s ice shell is covered in landforms called “double ridges” – consisting of two ridges of ice that are nearly symmetrical on either side of a shallow trough – up to hundreds of kilometres long.
Europa’s double ridges. Left: an image of a double ridge taken by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Upper right: a computer-generated 3D model of the double ridge structure. Lower right: a coloured version of the model. The red tones indicate that the crests of the ridge system reach elevations of nearly 1000 feet (more than 300 meters) above the surrounding furrowed plains (blue and purple tones). The two ridges are separated by a valley about a mile (1.5 kilometers) wide. Credit: NASA/ JPL / DPR.
In the new study, the researchers investigated a double ridge found on Earth in the ice sheet over northwest Greenland. The double ridge is very similar in shape to those found on Europa.
Using surface elevation and radar sounding data, the team found that the Greenland double ridge was probably formed by shallow liquid water within the ice sheet gradually refreezing, becoming pressurised and eventually fracturing the ice.
This finding implies that a similar mechanism might cause the double ridges on Europa as well – although there are some differences. In Greenland, the regions of shallow liquid water are formed by drainage of meltwater from the surface. On Europa, the liquid water might instead be injected from below, originating from the moon’s subsurface ocean.
Infographic explaining current knowledge of Europa’s likely ocean. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
The study suggests that shallow liquid water may be more important to shaping Europa’s surface than previously recognised.
“If this mechanism controls double ridge formation at Europa, the ubiquity of double ridges on the surface implies that liquid water is and has been a pervasive feature within the brittle lid of the ice shell,” Culberg and colleagues write.
With NASA’s Europa Clipper mission scheduled to be launched in October 2024, we’ll no doubt learn much more in the coming decades about the geology of this intriguing moon – and its potential to harbour life.
Originally published by Cosmos as Earthly comparison hints at shallow liquid water on Jupiter’s moon and was written by Matilda Handsley-Davis who is a science writer at Cosmos. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Adelaide.
Published by The Echo in conjunction with Cosmos Magazine.
Before the Lismorons start up, remember this. We must leave this place.
I don’t live in Lismore , but pretty disrespectful thing to say. Is that an excuse to butcher, pollute the planet to justify heading for the stars . Well you can go there , I’m staying right here on the planet. Plus burning fuel is ancient techknowledgy , to slow . A steam train out in space , cho cho. When they come up with a better propulsion then yes , maybe. Electro magnetic fusion maybe . Something clever and clean . Tesla was onto it but they silenced him And Europa ,, good luck there . Like Antartica X 20 ,, brrrrrr, better have a good heater and a good helmet . Space suit. We’re having a hard time just getting to the moon . To much money wasted on useless space race , no wonder the planets overheating . Just stick to the satellites and forget the rest .
I don’t live in Lismore , but pretty disrespectful thing to say. Is that an excuse to butcher, pollute the planet to justify heading for the stars . Well you can go there , I’m staying right here on the planet. Plus burning fuel is ancient techknowledgy , to slow . A steam train out in space , cho cho. When they come up with a better propulsion then yes , maybe. Electro magnetic fusion maybe . Something clever and clean . Tesla was onto it but they silenced him . The real Tesla. And Europa ,, good luck there . Like Antartica X 20 ,, brrrrrr, better have a good heater and a good helmet . Space suit. We’re having a hard time just getting to the moon . To much money wasted on useless space race , no wonder the planets overheating . Just stick to the satellites and forget the rest . ……. A long time ago I read a cheap sci fi called, ” The mote in gods eye” … That’s us, we’re the moteys , can’t even get out of the solar system . To much bickering and fighting each other to progress any further than primitive techknowledgy.
WTF
similarities in the ice, maybe the earth was once a moon of Jupiter and Saturn was the sun ,early man worshiped Jupiter as the god of the sky and Saturn was described as a god of time, generation, dissolution, abundance, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn’s mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace” maybe the ice age we are leaving was caused by the break up of this celestial congregation a ragnarok event with earth moving to its current orbit of sol.