Environmental Change in Icy Moons

Abstract:

There is strong evidence that subsurface oceans could exist within several of the outer solar system’s ice-rich moons, at Jupiter (Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), Saturn (Enceladus and Titan), and Neptune (Triton). If liquid water is indeed available in these subsurface environments, then the availability of chemical energy becomes the greatest limitation on whether icy worlds could harbor life. Of these moons, the largest (Ganymede, Callisto, and Titan) are expected to harbor oceans deep within, and high-pressure H₂O ice phases are expected farther beneath those deep oceans. In contrast, the oceans of smaller icy worlds—Europa, Enceladus, and Triton—are plausibly in direct contact with rock below. Given that serpentinization or other water-rock geochemical activity could supply reductants directly to their oceans, these icy worlds have the greatest chance to support present-day microbial life. Each of these three icy worlds displays spectacular resurfaced terrains that are very young (crater retention ages ~10s Myr and younger), with their internal activity linked to extremes in tidal heating today and/or in the geologically recent past. However, the degree of their tidal heating may have changed greatly over time. Europa is believed to experience cyclical tidal heating and activity; Enceladus may have experienced cyclical activity or a geologically recent pulse of activity; Triton may have experienced extreme tidal heating upon its capture and orbital circularization. Such dynamic pasts would pose challenges for any life within. We consider the possible effects of severe swings in the activity level of icy worlds, specifically the implications for delivery of chemical energy to their subsurface oceans.