4 papers
A framework for evaluating biosignature potential against the abiotic baseline on ocean worlds
Peter M. Higgins, Weibin Chen, Oliver Warr +4
Ocean worlds are considered as targets for life detection missions because they meet several key requirements for habitability. However, identifying potential life on other worlds…
Subsurface ocean salinity and dissipation rate inferred from Enceladus ice shell morphology
Wanying Kang, Yixiao Zhang
The habitability of Enceladus' subsurface ocean and the detectability of potential biosignatures depend on efficient ocean circulation and suitable ocean conditions. Directly probi…
A Tug-of-War Between Baroclinic Eddies and Convection: Implications for Icy Moon Oceans
Shuang Wang, Wanying Kang, Cheng Li
In many geophysical and planetary environments, such as Earth's ocean and atmosphere as well as subsurface oceans of icy satellites, convection driven by bottom geothermal heating…
How does ice shell geometry shape ocean dynamics on icy moons?
Yixiao Zhang, Wanying Kang, John Marshall
A poleward-thinning ice shell can drive circulation in the subsurface oceans of icy moons by imposing a meridional temperature gradient--colder at the equator than the pole--throug…