A Metamorphic Origin for Europa's Ocean
© 2021 Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.
| Veröffentlicht in: | Geophysical research letters. - 1984. - 48(2021), 18 vom: 28. Sept., Seite e2021GL094143 |
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| Weitere Verfasser: | , , |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2021
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Geophysical research letters |
| Schlagworte: | Journal Article Europa metamorphism ocean worlds planetary mineralogy and petrology thermodynamic modeling water‐rock interaction |
| Zusammenfassung: | © 2021 Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged. Europa likely contains an iron-rich metal core. For it to have formed, temperatures within Europa reached ≳ 1250 K. Going up to that temperature, accreted chondritic minerals - for example, carbonates and phyllosilicates - would partially devolatilize. Here, we compute the amounts and compositions of exsolved volatiles. We find that volatiles released from the interior would have carried solutes, redox-sensitive species, and could have generated a carbonic ocean in excess of Europa's present-day hydrosphere, and potentially an early CO 2 atmosphere. No late delivery of cometary water was necessary. Contrasting with prior work, CO 2 could be the most abundant solute in the ocean, followed by Ca 2 + , SO 4 2 - , and HCO 3 - . However, gypsum precipitation going from the seafloor to the ice shell decreases the dissolved S/Cl ratio, such that Cl > S at the shallowest depths, consistent with recently inferred endogenous chlorides at Europa's surface. Gypsum would form a 3-10 km thick sedimentary layer at the seafloor |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Revised 31.07.2022 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 0094-8276 |
| DOI: | 10.1029/2021GL094143 |