A strata of disintegrated icy crust on Jupiter’s Europa moon induces theories about an internal generator of heat possibly caused by an existing subsurface ocean scientists from Brown University suspect. This discovery adds momentum to NASA’s upcoming Juno exploration into Jupiter’s orbit and subsequent missions to determine if the moon is habitable, according to a Tech Tines report.
A consortium of researchers using computer modeling technology and lab experiments determined that tidal dissipation—an occurrence caused by Jupiter’s powerful gravitational field—could be influencing Europa’s fragmented ice sheets, an intensity of heat far greater than expected.
NASA probes since the 1970s and 1990s have extinguished scientists assumptions that Europa’s terrain would be cold and barren, reveals lead researcher Christine McCarthy.
“There was clearly some sort of tectonic activity—things moving around and cracking. There were also places on Europa that look like melt-through or mushy ice,” she explains, adding that the only mechanism to produce enough heat being so far away from the sun is through tidal dissipation.
Europa’s subsurface ocean is guarded by a plate of icy broken crust appearing to raft like Earth’s continental plates. Tidal resistance caused by Europa’s orbit around Jupiter generate an internal heating core keeping the ocean in its liquid state.
Yet the nature of the geological process eluded scientists using mechanical models based on heat fluxes created by the motion of tectonic plates. More experiments were needed.
Reid Cooper, a participant researcher, adds that understanding the physics of Europa’s heat generator will inform inquiries into the thickness of the moon’s shell leading to its oceanic history, critical for hypothesizing the existence of life.
These studies were originally published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.