Ocean world
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Education and Outreach, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Life Support Systems, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Tricorders & Sensors, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Recon: ASU Expedition Finds An Aquatic World Teeming With Life

by Keith Cowing

Imagine descending nearly a mile and a half into a watery abyss, watching the sunlight disappear as the world around you turns completely black. Then suddenly, you find yourself surrounded […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Understanding Snowball Earth Extreme Climates

by Keith Cowing

In the whole history of Earth’s climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call “Snowball Earth.”

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Survival Limits Of Psychrotolerant Microorganisms With Relevance For Planetary Protection Of The Icy Moons

by Keith Cowing

Investigating the survival limits of extremophilic microorganisms exposed to simulated space conditions can shed light on the ability of terrestrial microorganisms to survive and propagate on other planetary bodies.

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Slowing Planetary Rotation Influences Ocean Nutrient Cycling And Oxygenation

by Keith Cowing

Marine habitability for complex life on Earth and Earth-like planets requires bioavailable nutrients and dissolved oxygen. The cycling of nutrients and oxygen is controlled by physical ocean circulation.

Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ancient Rocks Reveal Annual Climate Cycles During Snowball Earth

by Keith Cowing

Scientists at the University of Southampton have uncovered evidence from ancient rocks that the Earth’s climate continued to fluctuate during its most extreme ice age – known as Snowball Earth.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice World Assay: Ancient Antarctica Reveals A ‘One–two Punch’ Behind Ice Sheet Collapse

by Keith Cowing

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 […]

Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Jupiter’s Moon Europa Has A Seafloor That May Be Quiet And Lifeless

by Keith Cowing

The giant planet Jupiter has nearly 100 known moons, yet none have captured the interest and imagination of astronomers and space scientists quite like Europa, an ice-shrouded world that is […]

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Organic Carbon In A Submarine Pressure Cooker

by Keith Cowing

The mid-ocean ridge runs through the oceans like a suture. Where the Earth’s plates move apart, new oceanic crust is continuously formed. This is often accompanied by magmatism and hydrothermal […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Raman Spectroscopy Of Salt Deposits From The Simulated Subsurface Ocean Of Enceladus

by Keith Cowing

Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus may host a subsurface ocean with biologically relevant chemistry.

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