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Evidence for a subsurface ocean on Europa

Author

Listed:
  • Michael H. Carr

    (US Geological Survey)

  • Michael J. S. Belton

    (National Optical Astronomy Observatory)

  • Clark R. Chapman

    (Southwest Research Institute)

  • Merton E. Davies

    (Rand Corporation)

  • Paul Geissler

    (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona)

  • Richard Greenberg

    (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona)

  • Alfred S. McEwen

    (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona)

  • Bruce R. Tufts

    (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona)

  • Ronald Greeley

    (Arizona State University)

  • Robert Sullivan

    (Cornell University)

  • James W. Head

    (Brown University)

  • Robert T. Pappalardo

    (Brown University)

  • Kenneth P. Klaasen

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  • Torrence V. Johnson

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  • James Kaufman

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  • David Senske

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  • Jeffrey Moore

    (NASA/Ames Research Center)

  • Gerhard Neukum

    (DLR-Institut für Planetenerkundung)

  • Gerald Schubert

    (University of California)

  • Joseph A. Burns

    (Cornell University)

  • Peter Thomas

    (Cornell University)

  • Joseph Veverka

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

Ground-based spectroscopy of Jupiter's moon Europa, combined with gravity data, suggests that the satellite has an icy crust roughly 150 km thick and a rocky interior1,2,3,4. In addition, images obtained by the Voyager spacecraft revealed that Europa's surface is crossed by numerous intersecting ridges and dark bands (called lineae) and is sparsely cratered, indicating that the terrain is probably significantly younger than that of Ganymede and Callisto5. It has been suggested that Europa's thin outer ice shell might be separated from the moon's silicate interior by a liquid water layer, delayed or prevented from freezing by tidal heating6,7,8,9,10; in this model, the lineae could be explained by repetitive tidal deformation of the outer ice shell11,12,13. However, observational confirmation of a subsurface ocean was largely frustrated by the low resolution (>2 km per pixel) of the Voyager images14. Here we present high-resolution (54 m per pixel) Galileo spacecraft images of Europa, in which we find evidence for mobile ‘icebergs’. The detailed morphology of the terrain strongly supports the presence of liquid water at shallow depths below the surface, either today or at some time in the past. Moreover, lower-resolution observations of much larger regions suggest that the phenomena reported here are widespread.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael H. Carr & Michael J. S. Belton & Clark R. Chapman & Merton E. Davies & Paul Geissler & Richard Greenberg & Alfred S. McEwen & Bruce R. Tufts & Ronald Greeley & Robert Sullivan & James W. Head , 1998. "Evidence for a subsurface ocean on Europa," Nature, Nature, vol. 391(6665), pages 363-365, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:391:y:1998:i:6665:d:10.1038_34857
    DOI: 10.1038/34857
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    Cited by:

    1. Yosef Ashkenazy & Eli Tziperman, 2021. "Dynamic Europa ocean shows transient Taylor columns and convection driven by ice melting and salinity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Bermudez-Garcia, Anderson & Voarino, Philippe & Raccurt, Olivier, 2021. "Environments, needs and opportunities for future space photovoltaic power generation: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    3. Cerimele, Maria M. & Mansutti, Daniela & Pistella, Francesca, 2008. "Study of Europa’s crust via a Stefan model with convection," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 258-268.
    4. Sayed Saad Afzal & Waleed Akbar & Osvy Rodriguez & Mario Doumet & Unsoo Ha & Reza Ghaffarivardavagh & Fadel Adib, 2022. "Battery-free wireless imaging of underwater environments," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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