Source: [astrobio.net]

Scientists have confirmed the existence of a process that causes the electrolysis of water, and which has the potential to drive the production of life in ‘Snowball Earth’ scenarios and on icy satellites such as Europa and Enceladus.

The process, known as the Workman-Reynolds Effect (WRE), occurs when a dilute aqueous solution of salt rapidly freezes, causing ions in the solution to assume a negative or positive charge at the interface between ice and water.

The research was supported by the Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology element of the NASA Astrobiology Program.