Researchers at the University of Texas may have discovered a natural process on Europa that could, in theory, lay the foundations for supporting life on Jupiter's moon of frozen Europa. Originally published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, according to their research, the icy shell of the moon could be transporting oxygen into the ice-covered liquid waters that would be a prerequisite for life as we know it living there.
While not a new theory, this study offers some important support for it. To do this, the team developed the world's first physics-based computer model to simulate such a process that involves oxygen effectively hitching a ride on saltwater under the moon's so-called "chaos terrains" landscapes of cracks, ridges, and ice blocks that cover a quarter of the icy world.
The result of the simulation seems to indicate that such a mechanism is not only possible, but it could account for large-scale oxygenation of the moon's ocean comparable to levels in Earth's atmosphere.
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