Chemical Composition of the Enceladus’ Ocean and its Habitability

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• Jihua Hao, University of Science and Technology of China (Department of Geochemistry and Planetary Sciences)
• Wednesday 21 May 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Martin Ryle Seminar Room, Kavli Institute.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Selen Etingü.

Enceladus, a small icy satellite of Saturn, was found to have a subsurface water ocean and evidence of ongoing hydrothermal activity in the seafloor. The ocean water, sampled via the polar plume, was inferred to contain substantial levels of inorganic and organic carbon as well as ammonia. However, there are very few constraints on the availability of other bio-essential nutrients, including phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and other enzyme-supporting metals, as well as biomolecules. This talk will summarize our current understanding and report some ongoing research about the availability of these nutrients and biomolecules. Furthermore, I will overview the limiting nutrient and possibly additional limiting factors for the origin and survival of life in the subsurface oceans of some icy moons. These considerations can help in defining future astrobiology missions to the outer solar system and beyond.

This talk is part of the LCLU Seminars series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• LCLU Seminars
• Martin Ryle Seminar Room, Kavli Institute

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