Geophysicists from Washington State University and Virginia Tech have uncovered a potential pathway for nutrient transport from the radioactive surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, to its subsurface ocean.
Artist’s concept of the oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Europa is believed to host more liquid water than all of Earth’s oceans combined, but this vast ocean lies beneath a thick, ice-covered shell that obstructs sunlight.
This ice layer means that any potential life in Europa’s oceans must seek alternative sources of nutrition and energy, raising important questions about how these aquatic environments can support life.
Moreover, Europa is under constant bombardment from intense radiation emitted by Jupiter.
This radiation interacts with salts and other surface materials on Europa, producing nutrients beneficial for marine microorganisms.
While several theories exist, planetary scientists have struggled to determine how nutrient-rich surface ice can penetrate the thick ice shell to reach the ocean below.
Europa’s icy surface is geologically active due to the gravitational forces from Jupiter; however, ice movements primarily occur horizontally rather than vertically, which limits surface-to-ocean exchange.
Dr. Austin Green from Virginia Tech and Dr. Katherine Cooper from Washington State University sought inspiration from Earth to address the surface recycling challenge.
“This innovative concept in planetary science borrows from well-established principles in Earth science,” stated Dr. Green.
“Notably, this approach tackles one of Europa’s persistent habitability questions and offers hope for the existence of extraterrestrial life within its oceans.”
The researchers focused on the phenomenon of crustal delamination, where tectonic compression and chemical densification in Earth’s crust lead to the separation and sinking of crustal layers into the mantle.
They speculated whether this process could be relevant to Europa, especially since certain regions of its ice surface contain dense salt deposits.
Previous investigations indicate that impurities can weaken ice’s crystalline structure, making it less stable than pure ice.
However, delamination requires that the ice surface be compromised, enabling it to detach and submerge within the ice shell.
The researchers proposed that dense, salty ice, surrounded by purer ice, could sink within the ice shell, thereby facilitating the recycling of Europa’s surface and nourishing the ocean beneath.
Using computer simulations, they discovered that as long as the surface ice is somewhat weakened, nutrient-rich ice laden with salts can descend to the bottom of the ice shell.
This recycling process is swift and could serve as a reliable mechanism for providing essential nutrients to Europa’s oceans.
The team’s study has been published in the Planetary Science Journal.
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AP Green and CM Cooper. 2026. Dripping into destruction: Exploring the convergence of viscous surfaces with salt in Europa’s icy shell. Planetary Science Journal 7, 13; doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ae2b6f
Source: www.sci.news
