Europa Subsurface Ocean |
Europa Subsurface Ocean |
Nov 22 2005, 10:53 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Regarding the very real possibility Europa harbors an ocean underneath the ice, I'm wondering whether there have been any estimates on how long such an ocean might have been sustained (I'm assuming it's still there today). Are we talking about the entire history of Europa, billions of years or a much more recent thing, only a few millions? I know Enceladus, which recently turned out to be much warmer inside than expected, could have been periodically heated, but not on very long timescales.
I'm primarily interested because of the habitability factor, obviously an ocean which freezes out every once and a while would not make for a good incubator to possible life. Also, supposedly all tidal heating on Europa would cease now, how long would it take for the subsurface to freeze out, that is, what are the thermal conductive properties of the surface ice? Admittedly, I haven't done much research on the subject and if the question was already asked before, I apologize. -------------------- |
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Nov 24 2005, 04:21 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1636 Joined: 9-May 05 From: Lima, Peru Member No.: 385 |
Thanks to Richard and Helvick for the reference. I am still puzzled of this odd behavior so this is a new thing for me. I will *study* paper pointed by Helvick and Richard.
Rodolfo |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 27th September 2024 - 01:09 AM |
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