Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.5403g&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #54.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1074
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Current models of the composition of Europa's ocean are constrained by the presumed sulfur-rich, non-ice materials concentrated along geologic features on the moon's surface, which may represent sites of material exchange with the ocean. On Earth microorganisms in deep ocean settings can utilize biogeochemical redox transformations of sulfur to gain energy. We investigate the energy availability, reaction rates and metabolic and isotopic products of chemotrophic sulfur metabolisms such as sulfate reduction, sulfide oxidation, and sulfur oxidation and reduction, under simulated Europa ocean conditions. Known piezophilic bacteria isolated from high-pressure, low-temperature, and nutrient-poor conditions are tested for survival and growth under conditions modelled for a Europa ocean and generated within a pressurized cultivation chamber developed at JPL. We identify reactions that prove energetically favorable for these microorganisms under simulated Europa ocean conditions and constrain rates of microbial mediation of reactions by comparison with abiotic controls. The resulting thermodynamic and kinetics will aid our understanding of whether Europa's cold, high-pressure ocean is capable of supporting life, as we know it. Characterizing intermediate reaction species and disequilibrium products of biomediated reactions, in addition to stable isotope fractionations and biomarkers associated with "Europa"-adapted organisms, will help in identifying the best organic and inorganic target molecules for future remote sensing and in situ exploration missions.
Amashukeli Xenia
Gleeson Damhnait
Pappalardo Robert T.
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