Could fast-freezing saltwater allow life to flourish on Europa? Scientists uncover process that sparks creation of oxygen Nasa-led research team has measured electrical potential in salty ice When it freezes, Workman-Reynolds Effect creates a change in charge Ions take on a negative or positive charge between the ice and water This could lead to significant hydrogen and oxygen gas production The research was originally reported in Astrobiology magazine By Ellie Zolfagharifard for MailOnline 26 November 2014 Rapidly freezing saltwater could provide the spark needed for life to flourish on icy worlds. This is according to a Nasa-led research team that measured the electric potential in fast-freezing salty ice. During a process known as the Workman-Reynolds Effect (WRE), they discovered ions take on a negative or positive charge at the boundary between ice and water. During a process known as the Workman-Reynolds Effect (WRE), scientists discovered ions take on a negative or positive charge at the boundary between ice and water. Pictured is glacial ice in the Antarctic They also found that the electrical potential created by this process could reach up to 230 volts - the same voltage supplied by many residential mains systems. This could lead to significant hydrogen and oxygen gas production, key ingredients for life, according to a report by Andrew Williams in Astrobiology magazine. WHAT IS THE WORKMAN-REYNOLDS EFFECT? When a dilute solution of certain salts freezes rapidly, a potential electrical difference is created between the solid and liquid phases. For some salts, the ice receives a negative charge, for others, positive. Researchers have found this electrical potential could reach up to 230 volts – the same voltage supplied by many residential mains systems. This mechanism was thought to play a role in the charging of thunderstorms. Now scientists believe it could help trigger significant hydrogen and oxygen gas production, key ingredients for life, on icy planets. The findings may have huge significance in the search for life on Jupiters moon, Europa. Europas surface contains a significant amount of magnesium sulphate salts that could have formed by oxidation of a mineral originating from the ocean below. Scientists believe that what can be observed on the surface of Europa may reflect what is underneath its surface. Galileo missions between 1989 to 2003, which studied Jupiter and its moons, suggests there is a chemical exchange between the ocean and surface. If the WRE process was to occur over a long period of time, the amount of oxygen produced would be substantial enough to support habitation, according to Travis Johnson, a geosciences student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It may provide enough electric potential to drive initial chemical reactions that are essential to the production of life, he told Astrobiology magazine. As well as cycling of material between the ocean and ice shell, it is believed that geysers spurting out of Jupiters moon may be an opportunity to spot alien life originating beneath the surface. Europas surface (pictured) contains a significant amount of magnesium sulphate salts. Scientists believe that what can be observed on the surface of Europa may reflect what is underneath its surface This was based on observations by the Hubble Space Telescope in December 2013 that saw water vapour being ejected from the moon, lending evidence to the existence of jets. In September, Jupiters moon Europa has been found to have tectonic activity like Earth. This was the first time this specific type of geological activity has been observed in the solar system other than on our planet.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 10:43:30 +0000
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