Thursday, October 15, 2009

Jupiter Moon’s Ocean Is Rich In Oxygen

The strange striations on Europa's surface are thought to have been caused by tidal stresses from Jupiter as the ice cracks and warmer layers come to the surface. The same process may be responsible for transporting oxygen below the surface. Credit: NASA

From Cosmos:

SYDNEY: The globe-spanning ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all Earth’s oceans combined, says a new study, which finds it’s packed with oxygen which could support life.

Research completed by Richard Greenberg a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, USA, suggests that there could be as much as 100 times the amount of oxygen previously estimated. The findings were presented last week at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

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