In 2009, scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution embarked on a NASA-funded mission to the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean, in search of a type of deep-sea hot-spring or hydrothermal […]
Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Posted inAstrochemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Was Plentiful in the Early Universe
Astronomers have long held that water — two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom — was a relative latecomer to the universe. They believed that any element heavier than helium […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Our Ocean's Cosmic Origin
A new study published in Science looks beyond the question of whether Earth’s oceans can be traced to comets or other objects from space, and instead asks the question: where […]
Posted inIcy Worlds, Journal articles, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Our Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water
As NASA missions explore our solar system and search for new worlds, they are finding water in surprising places. Water is but one piece of our search for habitable planets […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Habitability of Water Worlds
There are four different stable climate states for pure water atmospheres, as might exist on so-called “waterworlds”. I map these as a function of solar constant for planets ranging in […]
Posted inPress Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
No Limit to Life in Deep Sediment of Ocean's Deadest Region
“Who in his wildest dreams could have imagined that, beneath the crust of our Earth, there could exist a real ocean…a sea that has given shelter to species unknown?” So […]
Posted inEnceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Within Enceladus May Harbor Hydrothermal Activity
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first clear evidence that Saturn’s moon Enceladus exhibits signs of present-day hydrothermal activity which may resemble that seen in the deep oceans on […]
Posted inEnceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The pH of Enceladus' Ocean
Observational data from the Cassini spacecraft are used to obtain a chemical model of ocean water on Enceladus. The model indicates that Enceladus’ ocean is a Na-Cl-CO3 solution with an […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Persistence of Oceans on Earth-like Planets: Insights from the Deep-Water Cycle
In this paper we present a series of models for the deep water cycle on super-Earths experiencing plate tectonics. The deep water cycle can be modeled through parameterized convection models […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Super-Earths Have Long-Lasting Oceans
For life as we know it to develop on other planets, those planets would need liquid water, or oceans. Geologic evidence suggests that Earth’s oceans have existed for nearly the […]