Astrobiologists have devised a novel way to determine ocean temperatures of distant worlds based on the thickness of their ice shells, effectively conducting oceanography from space.
Cornell University astrobiologists have devised a novel way to determine ocean temperatures of distant worlds based on the thickness of their ice shells, effectively conducting oceanography from space.
"If we can measure the thickness variation across these ice shells, then we're able to get temperature constraints on the oceans, which there's really no other way yet to do without drilling into them," said Britney Schmidt, associate professor of astronomy and of earth and atmospheric sciences."This gives us another tool for trying to figure out how these oceans work.
NASA's Cassini probe generated data sufficient to predict a temperature range for Enceladus' ocean, based on the slope of its ice shell from poles to equator: minus 1.095 degrees to minus 1.272 degrees Celsius. Knowing temperatures informs understanding of how heat flows through oceans and how they circulate, affecting habitability.
"There's a connection between the shape of the ice shell and the temperature in the ocean," Schmidt said."This is a new way to get more insight from ice shell measurements that we hope to be able to get for Europa and other worlds."
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