Thermal Diapirism and the Habitability of the Icy Shellof Europa |
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Authors: | Javier Ruiz Lilia Montoya Valle López Ricardo Amils |
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Institution: | (1) Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Camino Bajo de Huétor 50, 18008 Granada, Spain;(2) Centro de Biología Molecular, CSIC-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain;(3) Seminario de Ciencias Planetarias, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;(4) Centro de Astrobiología, INTA, 28855, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain |
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Abstract: | Europa’s chaos and lenticulae features may have originated by thermal diapirs related to convective plumes. Warm ice plumes
could be habitable, since their temperature is close to the ice melting temperature. Moreover, thermal plumes intruding into
the lower stagnant lid warm several kilometers of country ice above 230 K for periods of 105 years, and hundreds of meters above 240 K for periods of 104 years. Diapir coalescence generating chaos areas should provide a large zone with temperature above ∼240 K for thousands
of years. A temperature above ∼230 K is potentially interesting for astrobiology, since it corresponds to the lowest temperature
at which microbial metabolic activity in Antarctic ice has been reported. So, the warming by thermal plumes could cause an
aureole of biological activation/reactivation in the country ice. Adaptation of life to either high salinity or low temperature
is similar: it requires the synthesis of compatible solutes, like trehalose or glycerol, which are efficient cryoprotectants.
We therefore propose that the future astrobiological exploration of Europa should include the search for compatible solutes
in chaos and lenticulae features. |
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Keywords: | Astrobiology Compatible solutes Europa Habitability Thermal diapirism |
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