Rutgers Study Says Europa Water Cracks Freeze Shut Within Hours, Complicating Ocean Access
Updated
Updated · Newswise · Jul 24
Rutgers Study Says Europa Water Cracks Freeze Shut Within Hours, Complicating Ocean Access
1 articles · Updated · Newswise · Jul 24
Summary
Nature Astronomy research led by Rutgers found liquid water rising from Europa’s deep ocean would likely cool so fast in ice fractures that many narrow cracks freeze shut within hours.
Computer simulations point to turbulent flow—not the smoother motion assumed in earlier models—as the key problem, because swirling water loses heat rapidly to crack walls and forms frazil ice that clogs the pathway.
The team said wider fractures could move more water only under idealized conditions, while explaining some surface features would require unrealistically long cracks or too many of them.
That means any shallow liquid reservoirs detected beneath Europa’s ice may have formed locally from melting inside the shell, not from direct exchange with the global ocean scientists most want to study.
The finding could shape how NASA’s Europa Clipper—due at Jupiter in 2030 for 49 Europa flybys—and ESA’s JUICE mission, arriving in 2031, interpret subsurface water and habitability clues.
If Europa’s ocean water freezes on its way up, how are its chemical signatures still reaching the icy surface?
Is Europa’s deep ocean sealed off, forcing missions to drill dozens of kilometers to find potential life?
Could Earth life have already reached Europa, meaning we are simply searching for our own distant relatives?
Rutgers Study Finds Europa’s Surface Cracks Freeze in Minutes, Hindering Direct Ocean Sampling and Life Search
Overview
A Rutgers University study has overturned the long-held belief that cracks in Europa’s thick ice shell allow liquid water from its subsurface ocean to reach the surface. Previously, scientists thought features like chaos terrains and double ridges were signs of water upwelling and freezing, offering a chance to sample ocean material and possible biosignatures. However, the new research shows that these cracks freeze shut much faster than expected—within minutes to hours—due to Europa’s extremely cold surface. This rapid freezing effectively seals the ocean off from the surface, making direct access to ocean water and its potential signs of life far more challenging than once hoped.