From Earth to Europa: An Exploration into Sulfur-Ice Environments

从地球到欧罗巴：硫冰环境探索

• 批准号: 2705379
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2705379
• 关键词: Earth; Europa; Exploration; into; Sulfur

Many water worlds have been discovered throughout the solar system, each hiding a liquid, sub-surface ocean beneath a thick shell of ice/rock. Jupiter's moon Europa may be the most astrobiologically promising of these; the confluence of hydrothermal activity on its seafloor and radiolytic sulfur/oxygen production at its surface creates a source of chemical energy for potential life to utilize. Chaos terrains criss-crossing Europa's exterior suggest possible communication with the underlying ocean, therefore investigating these alongside possible plumes will be critical for upcoming life-detection missions (e.g, Europa Clipper). This research aims to further our understanding of not only Europa, exploring the physics and chemistry of different ices, biosignature modification rates/detection methods under different physiochemical conditions, and planetary-scale redox systems, but also of vulnerable Arctic environments present on Earth along with their associated microbiological communities. This will be achieved through fieldwork, modelling, and finally laboratory experimentation including: FT-IR spectroscopy, environmental simulation chambers, cell limitation and microbial community analyses, and ion/elemental compositional investigation. Knowledge gained will subsequently be used in modelling similar exoplanet super-Earths where the ocean and atmosphere are not in contact. Ultimately, results will enhance our knowledge of habitability and life in extreme environments, both on Earth, and beyond.

在整个太阳系中已经发现了许多水世界，每个水世界都在厚厚的冰/岩石外壳下隐藏着液态的地下海洋。木星的卫星木卫二可能是这些卫星中最有天体生物学前景的；海底的热液活动和表面的放射性硫/氧生产的汇合为潜在的生命创造了一个化学能的来源。在木卫二表面纵横交错的混乱地形表明，木卫二可能与下面的海洋有联系，因此，在可能存在羽流的情况下调查这些地形对即将到来的生命探测任务（例如，木卫二快船）至关重要。这项研究旨在进一步了解木卫二，探索不同冰的物理和化学性质，不同物理化学条件下的生物特征修饰率/检测方法，以及行星尺度的氧化还原系统，以及地球上存在的脆弱北极环境及其相关微生物群落。这将通过实地考察、建模和最后的实验室实验来实现，包括：傅里叶变换红外光谱、环境模拟室、细胞限制和微生物群落分析，以及离子/元素组成调查。获得的知识随后将用于模拟类似的系外行星超级地球，那里的海洋和大气不接触。最终，这些结果将增强我们对地球和其他极端环境下的可居住性和生命的认识。