Exploring Europa’s Ice Shell: Insights from Earth

Sea ice, grown from a freezing ocean, is a fundamental feature of Earth’s Arctic Ocean and may also exist on certain ice-covered moons in the Solar System. In both Earth and planetary systems, the ocean below the ice is critical for understanding ice thickness and dynamics. In this talk, I will describe how polar research may help us glean insight into icy satellites. We will focus on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, thought to have an ice shell overlying a global ocean. How does this ice shell grow and move? What can this tell us about the evolution of Europa and its ocean? We will discuss how idealized models of Europa’s ice shell, adapted from a consideration of Earth’s cryosphere, give us insight into this mysterious planetary body.

About this Series: The MIT Planetary Lunch Seminar [PLS] is a weekly seminar series organized within the EAPS department. Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department's planetary sciences research program. The seminars take place on Tuesdays from 12:30–1:30 pm, unless otherwise noted (term-time only). Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors. Talks are intended to appeal to graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. For more information and Zoom password contact: planetary-org@mit.edu.