2024-03-14 09:48:30
The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research, raises questions about the thickness of the ice sheet that hides the subsurface oceans on the moons of Europa and Enceladus, and suggests that the data could give us insight into the potential habitability of these worlds.
The scientific portal Space writes about this.
The scientific community believes that Saturn’s moons, such as Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moons, including Europa, hide oceans beneath their frozen surface. This raises the possibility that these oceans may contain conditions suitable for the development of life.
Scientists exploring the ice shelves of Antarctica have discovered an interesting relationship between the thickness of the ice and the temperature of the water underneath. This discovery inspired a similar approach to study satellites of the solar system, such as Europa and Enceladus.
It is now hoped that this data will help scientists better understand the conditions under which ocean worlds beyond Earth may exist. Research in Antarctica has found that the mass of ice above the ocean and the water below interact through a process called “ice pumping.” This occurs due to differences in the thickness of the ice, which creates different pressures on the liquid water underneath. This pressure influences the freezing point and melting point of water.
Researchers believe that a similar mechanism could lead to the formation of a unique composition and texture of ice, and also influence the distribution of living organisms under ice on Earth. They suggest that a similar process may occur on Saturn and Jupiter’s moons Enceladus and Europa, and perhaps even on other moons such as Ganymede and Titan.
Data collected by the Cassini spacecraft, which explored Saturn from 2004 to 2017, showed that the temperature of Enceladus’s underground ocean could range from minus 1 to minus 1.3 degrees Celsius.
Previously, Cursor wrote that after studying an ice core obtained from the Skytrain Ice Rise glacier, scientists discovered that over the past 200 years the thickness of the ice cover has decreased by 450 meters.
2024-03-14 09:48:30