ArticleNature communications2021
Dynamic Europa ocean shows transient Taylor columns and convection driven by ice melting and salinity.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Halophiles and Halotolerants: From Industry to Astrobiology.Current microbiology · 2025Review
- Tidal Deformation and Dissipation Processes in Icy Worlds.Space science reviews · 2025Review
- Ocean weather systems on icy moons, with application to Enceladus.Science advances · 2024Article
- A Review on Hypothesized Metabolic Pathways on Europa and Enceladus: Space-Flight Detection Considerations.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- How does salinity shape ocean circulation and ice geometry on Enceladus and other icy satellites?Science advances · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The deep (~100 km) ocean of Europa, Jupiter's moon, covered by a thick icy shell, is one of the most probable places in the solar system to find extraterrestrial life. Yet, its ocean dynamics and its interaction with the ice cover have received little attention. Previous studies suggested that Europa's ocean is turbulent using a global model and taking into account non-hydrostatic effects and the full Coriolis force. Here we add critical elements, including consistent top and bottom heating boundary conditions and the effects of icy shell melting and freezing on ocean salinity. We find weak stratification that is dominated by salinity variations. The ocean exhibits strong transient convection, eddies, and zonal jets. Transient motions organize in Taylor columns parallel to Europa's axis of rotation, are static inside of the tangent cylinder and propagate equatorward outside the cylinder. The meridional oceanic heat transport is intense enough to result in a nearly uniform ice thickness, that is expected to be observable in future missions.
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Registered trials
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