[Science Advances] Water oceans in large icy moons and exoplanets are isolated from the rocky interior by thick layers of high-pressure ice, which hinder the direct release of nutrients and […]
Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 20 Oct 2026: Wheels Down In Cape Town
[Dale Andersen]: The 787 Dreamliner rolled to a stop far out on the apron, as the big jets often do here, and I climbed down into a gray afternoon and […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
The Evolution Of Oxygen, Temperature, And Marine Aerobic Habitat For Animals Over The Last Billion Years Of Earth History
[Current Biology (Cell)] Atmospheric and ocean oxygen levels and temperature have changed considerably over Earth history, and many of these changes coincided with similarly dramatic changes in marine life.
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Ocean Planet Recon: Saildrone Research Fleet To Circle Antarctica For 5 Years
Editor’s note: As we plan to use robotic probes such as Saildrone to explore worlds in our solar system with oceans, missions that explore Earth’s oceans can serve as important […]
Posted inBiophysics
Water As We’ve Never Known It: Testing Water Beyond Earth-like Conditions
[UNLV] Water isn’t always as it seems. Under extreme conditions, such as those found on other planets, it has been discovered to change its atomic structure, giving it the means […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Voyage Into The Slow-motion World Of Earth’s Deep Seas
[Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)] Polymetallic nodules form at a snail’s pace. They grow about one to two millimetres over the course of a million years. If buried […]
Posted inMars
Ancient Clays Near The Hellas Basin On Mars
[NASA]. Ancient clay-rich sediments (orangish color and polygonal fractures in our enhanced color cutout) exposed between wind-blown dunes and patches of sand northwest of the giant Hellas impact basin.
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: Preview: Fall 2026 Lake Untersee Field Season
Keith’s note: Dale Andersen is preparing for his second expedition to Lake Untersee, Antarctica for 2026. The first 2026 Field season at Lake Untersee was conducted from January – March […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware
Using Nuclear Technology To Change How We Explore Icy Ocean Worlds: Examples From Nuclear Powered Mission Concept Designs
[Frontiers] Icy ocean worlds represent some of the most compelling targets in the search for extraterrestrial life, yet their exploration is constrained by significant logistical challenges including long transit times, […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Simulations Of The Evolving Ozone Layer: Implications For The Early Earth, Exoplanets, And The Search For Life
[astro-ph.EP] Over 4 billion years, Earth’s atmosphere has been transformed from a composition devoid of molecular oxygen (O2) to one where O2 is now 21% of our modern atmosphere by […]