Nov. 25, 2022
Research Highlight

Where Might Plumes of Water Vapor Come From on Icy Moons?

This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa.Image credit: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center.

A team of scientists supported in part by NASA have provided new details about what subsurface lakes on Jupiter’s moon Europa might look like and how they could be connected to the plumes of water vapor that have been observed spouting from the moon. Based on multiple lines of evidence, Europa is thought to support a large, global ocean beneath its icy surface. Recent studies have also shown that the moon could have pockets of water at varying levels within the ice sheet.

The new work supports theories that water could erupt from these sources and result in plumes of water vapor, like those already observed at Europa by space missions and telescopes. Alternatively, the eruptions could appear as cyrovolcanic activity – where flowing, slushy ice makes its way onto the surface rather than molten lava.

The paper, “Simulation of Freezing Cryomagma Reservoirs in Viscoelastic Ice Shells,” was published in The Planetary Science Journal.

Click here to read a news article about the findings from NASA.

Click here to read more about the findings in a post from Many Worlds.

Related Links:
NASA Study Suggests Shallow Lakes in Europa’s Icy Crust Could Erupt
Old Data Reveal Evidence of Europa Plumes
NASA Scientists Confirm Water Vapor on Europa



The Many Worlds Blog chronicles the search for evidence of life beyond Earth written by author/journalist Marc Kaufman. The “Many Worlds” column is supported by the Lunar Planetary Institute/USRA and informed by NASA’s NExSS initiative, a research coordination network supported by the NASA Astrobiology Program. Any opinions expressed are the author’s alone.