![]() What’s the difference? Congelation ice actually grows from beneath the ice shelf, while frazil ice drifts up through superchilled seawater in flakes before settling beneath the ice shelf.īoth of these types result in ice that has less salinity than seawater – and according to the researchers’ projections, seawater was even less salty when they applied this data to the age and scale of Europa’s ice shell.įrazil ice may be the most common type on Europa, which would make the ice shell much more pure than previously believed. Jupiter's moon Europa may have a habitable ice shell This mechanism is based on the study of an analogous double ridge feature found on Earth's Greenland Ice Sheet. This artist's conception shows how double ridges on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa may form over shallow, refreezing water pockets within the ice shell. The researchers studied the two methods of water freezing beneath ice shelves on Earth: congelation ice and frazil ice. ![]() Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are developing the spacecraft’s ice penetrating radar.Įuropa’s ocean nearest to its shell has a temperature, pressure and salinity similar to the water beneath ice shelves in Antarctica, previous research has suggested. Wolfenbarger is also a graduate student affiliate member of the Europa Clipper science team. “When we’re exploring Europa, we’re interested in the salinity and composition of the ocean, because that’s one of the things that will govern its potential habitability or even the type of life that might live there,” said lead study author Natalie Wolfenbarger, a doctoral student researcher at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, in a statement. READ MORE: Explore where the search for life is taking place in our solar systemĬlues about the ice shell could also help scientists determine more about Europa’s ocean, its salinity and its potential to harbor life.Įuropa’s ice shell is between 10 and 15.5 miles (15 and 25 kilometers) thick, and it likely sits on top of an ocean that’s estimated to be 40 to 90 miles (60 to 150 kilometers) deep. Any salt within the ice shell could impact how deep the radar can penetrate through it, so predictions about the shell’s composition are key. NASAĮuropa Clipper will use ice-penetrating radar to look beneath the shell and determine if the moon’s ocean is potentially habitable for life. This illustration shows Europa Clipper performing a flyby of the icy moon, with Jupiter in the background.
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