Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography Archives

Dale Anderson's live webcast from Lake Untersee, Antarctica - Dale Andersen/SETI Institute

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, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 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. We’ll be posting […]

SWIM Submersible Droid Prototypes -- NASA Larger image

Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

NASA’s SWIM Submersible Droid Prototypes

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024November 22, 2024

Two prototypes for a NASA mission concept called SWIM (short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) are arranged beside a much smaller nonfunctioning model representing the final envisioned size of the […]

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Worlds Working Group Seeking New Science Group Co-Lead

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024November 22, 2024

The Ocean Worlds Working Group is seeking a new co-lead for the Science Goals subgroup. The Science Goals subgroup is tasked with developing both immediate and long-term science goals for […]

A prototype of a robot designed to explore subsurface oceans of icy moons is reflected in the water’s surface during a pool test at Caltech in September. Conducted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the testing showed the feasibility of a mission concept for a swarm of mini swimming robots. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Cryobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Icy Ocean World Explorers For Future Astrobiology Missions

by Keith CowingNovember 20, 2024

When NASA’s Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter’s moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Weather Systems On Icy Moons With Application To Enceladus

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024

We explore ocean circulation on a rotating icy moon driven by temperature gradients imposed at its upper surface due to the suppression of the freezing point of water with pressure, […]

MBARI researchers have described a remarkable new species of nudibranch from the depths of the midnight zone. Nicknamed the “mystery mollusc,” Bathydevius caudactylus swims with a fingered tail, uses a cavernous hood to capture food, and glows with brilliant bioluminescence. Image: © 2014 MBARI

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

MBARI Researchers Discover A New Life Form DEEP In The Sea

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024November 18, 2024

MBARI researchers have discovered a remarkable new species of sea slug that lives in the deep sea. Bathydevius caudactylus swims through the ocean’s midnight zone with a large gelatinous hood […]

This color image from NASA Voyager 2 was reconstructed by making a computer composite of three black and white images taken through red, green, and blue filters. Details on Triton surface unfold dramatically in this sequence of approach images. NASA ID: PIA00329 Larger image

Astrogeology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Neptune, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Enhanced Voyager 2 Approach Image Sequence Of Icy Ocean World Triton

by Keith CowingNovember 16, 2024

Original Caption Released with Image: Triton Voyager 2 approach sequence with latitude-longitude grid superposed. The color image was reconstructed by making a computer composite of three black and white images […]

Compositions of igneous rocks from Earth, the Moon, Mars, and other differentiated bodies. The data shown are relatively comprehensive, giving a good indication of the distribution of rock compositions. Sources: Earth – IGBADAT5 from IUGS; Moon – MoonDB (moondb.org); Mars – Filiberto et al. 2017; Achondrites – Kimura et al. (2018)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Scientists Compile Library For Evaluating Exoplanet Water

by Keith CowingNovember 15, 2024November 15, 2024

By probing chemical processes observed in the Earth’s hot mantle, Cornell scientists have started developing a library of basalt-based spectral signatures that not only will help reveal the composition of […]

An individual submarine chimney at a depth of roughly 30 m. -- Science of The Total Environment

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

White Smokers On The Floor Of The Dead Sea

by Keith CowingNovember 15, 2024November 15, 2024

The Dead Sea is a highly dynamic system: Its level has been dropping by roughly one meter per year for more than 50 years, because it is cut off from […]