spacetoday.net: Scientists detect potential subsurface lakes on Europa

Posted: Thu, Nov 17, 2011, 7:03 AM ET (1203 GMT)
Europa subsurface lake illustration (UTexas)

Planetary scientists have discovered what they believe to be a lake of water below the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. Scientists modeled regions of Europa called "chaos terrains", which are circular features with jumbled surface features. They believes these features are formed by lakes of salty liquid water just a few kilometers below the surface that seep up and break up the icy surface into the rough blocks seen in the chaos terrains. The existence of the lakes is inferred from the surface observations and the scientists' model, and confirmation of their existence would require a future mission to Europa that could probe the moon's interior. If the lakes do exist, they may bolster the prospects of life there by providing a means to mix organic compounds on the surface with a deeper subsurface ocean.