Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography Archives

Location of sites in the Untersee Oasis, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Background Digital Globe NextView satellite imagery, 7 December 2017; ©2020 Digital Globe NextView License (provided by NGA commercial imagery program).

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Research: Permafrost And Ground-ice Conditions in the Untersee Oasis, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica (Paper)

by Keith CowingDecember 19, 2024January 11, 2026

Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica at Lake Untersee in October-December 2024 for another field season of research (preview). Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. […]

Spherical microfossils. (A) Cluster of H. macroreticulata Barghorn in a hematite-rich stromatolite lamina. (B) High-resolution photomicrograph of two small H. macroreticulata Barghoorn in contact. (C and D) Larger spherical microfossils, with their internal structure revealed. -- Geobiology via PubMed

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Iron‐Oxidizing Bacteria Bloomed in Shallow‐Marine, Subtidal Environments 1.88 Billion Years Ago

by Keith CowingDecember 19, 2024December 19, 2024

The majority of large iron formations (IFs) were deposited leading up to Earth’s great oxidation episode (GOE). Following the GOE, IF deposition decreased for almost 500 Myr.

Composite age model constructed from the NKT section and comparison to other estimates for the age and duration of OAE1a. Two youngest dated tuffs SAB-046 and SAB-054 correlated from the nearby SAB section. Shaded distributions in color denote the summed probability distribution of 206Pb/238U dates for each tuff, as likelihood inputs into Bayesian modeling. Posterior distributions are superimposed in black on original likelihoods. The black solid line indicates the median, and the 95% HDI indicated by light gray shading represents the model uncertainty for all interpolated points between tuffs. The right panel illustrates estimates for the age of onset and termination of OAE1a at other sites compared to our results from Hokkaido. Note that, as described in the text, OAE1a is not consistently defined. Hk, Hokkaido; Cs, Cismon; Pb, Piobbico; Pg, Poggio le Guaine; Sb, Svalbard; Sd, Shandong. Only symbols with an error bar represent dates with an uncertainty value; otherwise, no uncertainty is provided. -- Science Advances

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Prehistoric Rock In Japan Reveals Clues To A Major Ocean Anoxic Event

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2024December 19, 2024

By studying prehistoric rocks and fossils emerging from the side of Mount Ashibetsu in Japan, researchers have precisely refined the timing and duration of Ocean Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a), […]

A parameter space plot showing ocean survival plotted by planet final semi-major axis and the time since white dwarf formation at which the scattering event occurred. This plot was constructed for an Earth-like planet with an initial semi-major axis of 5 AU, varying initial eccentricity, and an initial ocean mass of 1 TO. The location of the habitable zone, defined by where water could be liquid on the surface of an Earth-like planet, is overlaid. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Fate of Oceans on First-Generation Planets Orbiting White Dwarfs

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2024December 19, 2024

Several groups have recently suggested that small planets orbiting very closely around white dwarf stars could be promising locations for life to arise, even after stellar death. There are still […]

Three-dimensional renderings of snapshots of four selected simulations. For each simulation, the inner sphere shows the temperature at 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑖 + 0.02 atop the inner thermal boundary layer, while the outer surface corresponds to the melting radius 𝑟M. Equatorial and meridional slices show the temperature in the liquid and solid phase with two different separated colormaps. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Rotating Convection With A Melting Boundary: An Application To The Icy Moons

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2024December 17, 2024

A better understanding of the ice-ocean couplings is required to better characterise the hydrosphere of the icy moons. Using global numerical simulations in spherical geometry, we have investigated here the […]

A snapshot of the DeepBL hr simulation, showing (from upper left, going clockwise): cloud condensate, vertical velocity, specific humidity, and precipitating water. The colorbar for all fields except for vertical velocity is the base-10 logarithm of the water mass fraction (i.e., a value of -5 means 10−5 kg/kg.) Note that this simulation was performed on a quasi-2D grid, and with a higher resolution than the rest of our simulations. An animation of this simulation is available in the Supplemental Movie. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Resolved Convection In Hydrogen-rich Atmospheres

by Keith CowingDecember 16, 2024December 16, 2024

In hydrogen-rich atmospheres with low mean molecular weight (MMW), an air parcel containing a higher-molecular-weight condensible can be negatively buoyant even if its temperature is higher than the surrounding environment.

Planes on the Novo runway Left to right: Twin Otter; IL-76TD, Basler BT-67 (remanufactured and modified Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Douglas DC-3) Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 December 2024: Departing Antarctica

by Keith CowingDecember 14, 2024January 11, 2026

Schematic structure of denitrification genes in HRV44T and their gene and protein expression levels -- iScience

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Understanding The Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Nitrous Oxide Reduction By Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Bacteria

by Keith CowingDecember 13, 2024December 13, 2024

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most potent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane. It can also be oxidized by physical processes to form ozone-depleting substances. Atmospheric concentrations of […]

Maximal (red) and minimal (blue) atmospheric heating factor vs instellation, for three values of the heat redistribution parameter: f = 0.2 (solid), 0.5 (dashed), and 1 (dotted). The locations of the four planets in Table 1 considering their instellation are marked by vertical green stripes. Modified from Fig. 11 of Wandel (2018). The allowed habitable Hatm ranges of Earth, Mars and Venus for f = 1 are marked by vertical blue strips. The effective values of Hatm for these terrestrial planets are represented by blue dots. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Potential Interior Structures and Habitability of Super-Earth Exoplanets LHS 1140 b, K2-18 b, TOI-1452 b and TOI-1468 c

by Keith CowingDecember 12, 2024December 12, 2024

We analyze four super-Earth exoplanets, LHS 1140 b, K2-18 b, TOI-1452 b, and TOI-1468 c, which orbit M-dwarf stars in the habitable zone.

One of pur DataGarrison climate stations, situated at the top of the peninsula just behind our camp. While the station has a vantage point over both the north and south basins of Lake Untersee, this photo captures the view looking south across the southern basin. -- Dale Andersen

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2024January 11, 2026

Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Research: Permafrost And Ground-ice Conditions in the Untersee Oasis, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica (Paper)

Iron‐Oxidizing Bacteria Bloomed in Shallow‐Marine, Subtidal Environments 1.88 Billion Years Ago

Prehistoric Rock In Japan Reveals Clues To A Major Ocean Anoxic Event

The Fate of Oceans on First-Generation Planets Orbiting White Dwarfs

Rotating Convection With A Melting Boundary: An Application To The Icy Moons

Resolved Convection In Hydrogen-rich Atmospheres

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 December 2024: Departing Antarctica

Understanding The Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Nitrous Oxide Reduction By Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Bacteria

Potential Interior Structures and Habitability of Super-Earth Exoplanets LHS 1140 b, K2-18 b, TOI-1452 b and TOI-1468 c

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 28 October 2026: Shoveling Snow In Antarctica

NASA Comments On The Future Of Astrobiology

AI-Run Growth Chamber Will Test How Plants Develop in Microgravity Against a Matching Experiment on Earth

Perseverance Rover Offers Clues to Protect Crews From Mars Dust

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,222 23 October 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)