cryosphere Archives

a, Sub-ice topography, corrected for isostatic rebound due to ice removal3, with sharp topographic features enhanced by nonlinear filtering (Methods). The light grey lines are detected topographic lineaments interpreted as longitudinal normal faults forming the structural edges of the basins. The magenta and cyan lines represent detected topographic lineaments interpreted as either transverse strike–slip faults or associated normal faults that characterize the two circular shear belts shown in b (that is, the southern and northern TSCBs).

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Recon: Giant Fan-shaped Geological Structure Discovered Beneath East Antarctica

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2026June 26, 2026

Editor’s note: there are currently two advanced missions heading for the jovian system – Europa Clipper and ESA Juice – to study icy Europa and the other icy worlds orbiting […]

Initial structure of the Impact Plume 60 s post impact. The impactor strikes from the left, at a 60° angle from horizontal, with the sun located to the right.There is a visible asymmetry in the plume due to the direction of impact; the “hole” on the right side of the plume is a bubble in this 2D slice of a fully 3D plume due to the removal of water vapor-rock mixtures from the simulation during the sampling from SOVA into DSMC codes (Prem et al. 2015). (Top) the plume contains a region of high density (~1022 molecules/m3 ) just above the point of impact, which rapidly drops toward the edges of the plume. (Bottom, left) The high plume densities correspond to short mean free paths for the vapor molecules. (Bottom, right) Comparing this mean free path with the length scale of the density gradient reveals very small Knudsen numbers throughout; the entire plume (except for the very outermost edges) is clearly within the continuum flow regime at this time, rather than the slip-flow, Knudsen, or Free Molecular regimes. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mercury, Status Report

Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 26, 2026

Mercury’s polar cold traps host water ice deposits that are likely populated with impact-delivered water via Mercury’s exosphere.

(Left) TPD curves of SO2 deposited at 80 K on c-ASW (circles) for different coverages (1 ML, blue; 0.72 ML, red; 0.48 ML, green; 0.16 ML, magenta; and 0.07 ML, orange) in the submonolayer regime, with corresponding first-order fits (black lines). (Right) Associated adsorption energy distribution for each TPD curve. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Context. Sulphur-bearing species play a key role in the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium and icy Solar System bodies such as the Jovian moons, yet the sulphur budget remains […]

ID: ESP_072381_1430 date: 4 January 2022 altitude: 254 km NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Large image

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

HiRISE Image: Carbon Dioxide Ice On Mars

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

Every winter, a layer of carbon dioxide frost (dry ice) forms on the surface of Mars. At its greatest extent in mid-winter, this frost reaches from the poles down to […]

Part of the rugged and deeply indented coast of northeastern Greenland is featured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1. CREDIT contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA LICENCE CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence (content can be used under either licence) Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release

Ice Planet Orbital Recon: Greenland’s Changing Ice

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Greenland is the world’s largest island and about 80% of its surface is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second largest ice mass on Earth after the Antarctic Ice […]

Discrete mesh for the 3-D model with a heterogeneous ice shell thickness. The ice shell surface and base are constrained by models depicted in Figure 1 and described in Table 1. The yellow circle depicts the ice base of the mean ice shell, corresponding to the 1-D model. Three colors denote ice, ocean, and core regions. Each region is assigned a homogeneous electrical conductivity according to Table 2. The total number of cells in the mesh is 126976. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

Exploring Enceladus’s Interior Structure Using Electromagnetic Induction

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

Electromagnetic (EM) sounding can constrain the electrical structure of Enceladus and, in turn, the salinity of its ocean and the porosity, fluid content, and thermal state of its hydrothermally active […]

Artist’s impression of Dragonfly landing on Titan. Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Science Goals and Objectives for the Dragonfly Titan Rotorcraft Relocatable Lander

by Keith CowingApril 28, 2026April 28, 2026

NASA’s Dragonfly mission will send a rotorcraft lander to the surface of Titan in the mid-2030s. Dragonfly’s science themes include investigation of Titan’s prebiotic chemistry, habitability, and potential chemical biosignatures […]

Bond albedo (a) and thermal inertia (b) maps derived from PPR measurements in this study. Background is the USGS Europa Voyager Galileo SSI Global Mosaic of Europa (Becker et al. 2010). -- astro-ph.EP

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Thermophysical Properties of Europa’s Surface Constrained by Galileo Photopolarimeter-Radiometer Temperature Measurements

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2026April 18, 2026

Thermal measurements constrain the physical properties of icy satellite surfaces, including grain size, porosity, and regolith structure. On Europa, analyses of the Galileo Photopolarimeter-Radiometer (PPR) dataset revealed thermal inertia heterogeneities, […]

A European Space Agency-funded study used information from satellites to show that Antarctica is experiencing dramatic changes in sea-ice coverage, with profound consequences for key plankton species that underpin the region’s marine food web. About 10 years ago, the amount of sea ice around Antarctica suddenly declined, which resulted in of the Southern Ocean shifting from extremely low phytoplankton levels to more moderate productivity. This image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 in 2021 shows a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea. Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2026April 18, 2026

Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]

An image taken by the Solid State Imager onboard the Galileo spacecraft showing the Rhadamanthys region, including its lineae and varied topography. The Rhadamanthys Lineae offer several examples of prominent double ridges, a few examples of which are labeled. Low albedo material is closely correlated with the topography for many ridges. For others, including the ridge cutting from northwest to southeast, reddening is more diffuse and can be found on the ridge margins. Note the pits in the top left of the image, which can also display varied amounts of reddening. Image from NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Thermal Segregation and Reddening in Europa’s Double Ridges

by Keith CowingApril 15, 2026April 15, 2026

Europa’s double ridges often display lower albedo and redder color than their surroundings. Their unique topography may cause sublimation-driven darkening due to illumination and self-heating, a process known as thermal […]

cryosphere

Ice Planet Recon: Giant Fan-shaped Geological Structure Discovered Beneath East Antarctica

Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

HiRISE Image: Carbon Dioxide Ice On Mars

Ice Planet Orbital Recon: Greenland’s Changing Ice

Exploring Enceladus’s Interior Structure Using Electromagnetic Induction

Science Goals and Objectives for the Dragonfly Titan Rotorcraft Relocatable Lander

Thermophysical Properties of Europa’s Surface Constrained by Galileo Photopolarimeter-Radiometer Temperature Measurements

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life

Thermal Segregation and Reddening in Europa’s Double Ridges

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 11 November 2026: Weather Update And Forecast

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 10 November 2026: Weather Update Forecast

Dispersal of Bacterial Spores Away From Spacecraft on the Martian Surface is Unlikely to Contaminate Subsequent Life-detection Samples

From Exo-Earth Detection to Atmospheric Characterization: Enabling Phase-Dependent Molecular Detection SNR in EXOSIMS

Ancient Rocks Reveal When Earth’s Tectonic Engine Switched On