The distribution of CO2 on Europa indicates an internal source of carbon

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Trumbo, Samantha K.; Brown, Michael E.
• 署名单位: Cornell University; California Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-13505
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg4155
• 发表日期: 2023-09-22
• 页码: 1308-1311
• 关键词: spatially-resolved spectroscopy; shallow subsurface; hydrogen-peroxide; chaos terrain; cassini vims; ice; surface; dioxide; water; relevant

摘要

Jupiter's moon Europa has a subsurface ocean, the chemistry of which is largely unknown. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has previously been detected on the surface of Europa, but it was not possible to determine whether it originated from subsurface ocean chemistry, was delivered by impacts, or was produced on the surface by radiation processing of impact-delivered material. We mapped the distribution of CO2 on Europa using observations obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We found a concentration of CO2 within Tara Regio, a recently resurfaced terrain. This indicates that the CO2 is derived from an internal carbon source. We propose that the CO2 formed in the internal ocean, although we cannot rule out formation on the surface through radiolytic conversion of ocean-derived organics or carbonates.