NAI
2013 Annual Science Report
Arizona State University
Reporting | SEP 2012 – AUG 2013
Habitability of Water-Rich Environments, Task 2: Model the Dynamics of Icy Mantles
Project Summary
One of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, is one of the few places in the solar system in which the physical and chemical conditions may be suitable for sustaining life. Europa is composed on an outer H2O layer, comprised of rigid ice overlying a liquid water ocean. It is this liquid water ocean which has been hypothesized as having the ingredients necessary for life, but it is shielded from our observation by the thick ice layer. However, under certain conditions, the ice layer is expected to undergo convection, possibly transporting chemicals from the liquid ocean to the surface, where we may be able to detect them. We perform computer modeling of ice/ocean convection to investigate how ocean material is carried up through the ice layer and whether it is expected to reach Europa’s surface. This work provides guidance for future missions which may probe the chemistry of the ice surface.
Project Progress
Divya Allu Peddinti presented her work at the 2012 Fall AGU and was awarded an outstanding student paper award for her poster. Divya is still working on her first publication, which was delayed because we decided to modify the focus and redo some calculations at a higher resolution. While writing this publication she is also performing the necessary code development to extend our study to employ extended Bousinesq properties, such as viscous dissipation and latent heat. Divya will present her latest work at the 2013 Fall AGU, for which she was selected to give an oral presentation.
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PROJECT INVESTIGATORS:
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PROJECT MEMBERS:
Mikhail Zolotov
Co-Investigator
Divya Allu Peddinti
Collaborator
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RELATED OBJECTIVES:
Objective 1.1
Formation and evolution of habitable planets.
Objective 2.2
Outer Solar System exploration
