Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes
Abstract The potential habitability of Jupiter's moon Europa has motivated two missions: NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE). Both missions are equipped with ice‐penetrating radars which will transmit radio waves into the subsurface, recording reflection...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109144 |
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| author | N. S. Wolfenbarger D. D. Blankenship D. A. Young K. M. Scanlan C. J. Chivers D. Findlay G. B. Steinbrügge K. Chan C. Grima K. M. Soderlund D. M. Schroeder |
| author_facet | N. S. Wolfenbarger D. D. Blankenship D. A. Young K. M. Scanlan C. J. Chivers D. Findlay G. B. Steinbrügge K. Chan C. Grima K. M. Soderlund D. M. Schroeder |
| author_sort | N. S. Wolfenbarger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The potential habitability of Jupiter's moon Europa has motivated two missions: NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE). Both missions are equipped with ice‐penetrating radars which will transmit radio waves into the subsurface, recording reflections from interfaces defined by contrasts in ice shell dielectric properties. Assuming an MgSO4 ocean, we show that salt layers, formed through the freezing of subsurface liquid water reservoirs, can be detected by ice‐penetrating radar instruments on Europa Clipper and JUICE. Furthermore, because these features are thermodynamically stable within the minimally attenuating portion of Europa's ice shell, referred to here as the “pellucid region,” they could produce brighter reflections than deeper liquid water interfaces. We demonstrate how ice‐penetrating radar measurements of salt layer thickness could establish lower bounds on the parameter space of possible initial reservoir thickness and salinity, constrain the origin of reservoirs (ice shell melt vs. ocean injection), and—if sourced through ocean injection—the ocean salinity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-28349ea8cd074d57a949dec2a74bc8da |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-28349ea8cd074d57a949dec2a74bc8da2025-01-20T13:05:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-01-01521n/an/a10.1029/2024GL109144Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange ProcessesN. S. Wolfenbarger0D. D. Blankenship1D. A. Young2K. M. Scanlan3C. J. Chivers4D. Findlay5G. B. Steinbrügge6K. Chan7C. Grima8K. M. Soderlund9D. M. Schroeder10Department of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford CA USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAGeodesy & Earth Observation Division DTU Space Technical University of Denmark Kongens Lyngby DenmarkWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAInstitute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USADepartment of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford CA USAAbstract The potential habitability of Jupiter's moon Europa has motivated two missions: NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE). Both missions are equipped with ice‐penetrating radars which will transmit radio waves into the subsurface, recording reflections from interfaces defined by contrasts in ice shell dielectric properties. Assuming an MgSO4 ocean, we show that salt layers, formed through the freezing of subsurface liquid water reservoirs, can be detected by ice‐penetrating radar instruments on Europa Clipper and JUICE. Furthermore, because these features are thermodynamically stable within the minimally attenuating portion of Europa's ice shell, referred to here as the “pellucid region,” they could produce brighter reflections than deeper liquid water interfaces. We demonstrate how ice‐penetrating radar measurements of salt layer thickness could establish lower bounds on the parameter space of possible initial reservoir thickness and salinity, constrain the origin of reservoirs (ice shell melt vs. ocean injection), and—if sourced through ocean injection—the ocean salinity.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109144ice‐penetrating radarsalt layerREASONEuropaice shellRIME |
| spellingShingle | N. S. Wolfenbarger D. D. Blankenship D. A. Young K. M. Scanlan C. J. Chivers D. Findlay G. B. Steinbrügge K. Chan C. Grima K. M. Soderlund D. M. Schroeder Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes Geophysical Research Letters ice‐penetrating radar salt layer REASON Europa ice shell RIME |
| title | Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes |
| title_full | Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes |
| title_fullStr | Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes |
| title_short | Radar Characterization of Salt Layers in Europa's Ice Shell as a Window Into Critical Ice‐Ocean Exchange Processes |
| title_sort | radar characterization of salt layers in europa s ice shell as a window into critical ice ocean exchange processes |
| topic | ice‐penetrating radar salt layer REASON Europa ice shell RIME |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109144 |
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