Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.6608g&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #66.08
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Bombardment of the surface of Europa by energetic charged particles produces oxidants and other biologically useful substances, but they can only contribute to the habitability of the ocean if they are delivered down through the icy crust. The thickness of the oxygenated layer of ice has previously been estimated (e.g. by Chyba and Phillips) to be only a few meters, assuming that impact gardening is the dominant factor that distributes oxidants below the radiation zone. Such a layer could contribute significantly to the habitability of the ocean only if it were delivered frequently enough, via undefined mechanisms, as shown by Hand et al. However, consideration of the types of processes that continually resurface Europa (e.g. crack dilation, emplacement of new material on the old surface as in ridge formation, or melt) suggests that the oxygenated layer thickness is greater than 300 m, possibly as thick as the entire ice crust, and certainly far more than the few meters indicated by impact gardening alone. The estimated delivery rate to the ocean is enough that the oxygen levels could now be high enough to support macrofauna and, at 3×1011 moles/yr of oxygen, it could support the respiration rates of 3 million tons of fish, or their Europan equivalents. These values are independent of any additional contributions due to possible photosynthesis. Initial formation of life would be difficult with so much oxygen, but the start of oxidant delivery into the ocean would have been delayed by 1 - 2 billion years while the crust became loaded with oxidants. In the ocean, this delay would have allowed time for prebiotic assemblages and anaerobic biological development, prior to the increasing oxygen concentration, which could then have been harnessed for development of more plentiful and complex life.
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