Issue 1, 2024

Water dynamics in eutectic solutions of sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate: implications for life in Europa's subsurface ocean and ice shell

Abstract

Liquid water is essential for life as we know it and the coupling between water and biomolecular dynamics is crucial for life processes. Jupiter's moon Europa is a good candidate for searching for extraterrestrial life in our outer solar system, mainly because a liquid water salty ocean in contact with a rocky seafloor underlies its ice shell. Little, however, is known about the chemical composition of the subglacial ocean of Europa or the brine pockets within its ice shell and their impacts on water dynamics. Here, we employ 1H, 17O, 23Na and 35Cl NMR spectroscopy, especially NMR spin relaxation and diffusion methods, and investigate the mobility of water molecules and ions in eutectic solutions of magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride, two salts ubiquitously present on the surface of Europa, over a range of temperatures and pressures pertinent to Europa's subglacial ocean. The NMR data demonstrate the more pronounced effect of magnesium sulfate compared with sodium chloride on the mobility of water molecules. Even at its much lower eutectic temperature, the sodium chloride solution retains a relatively large level of water mobility. Our results highlight the higher potential of a sodium chloride-rich than magnesium sulfate-rich Europa's ocean to accommodate life and support life origination within the eutectic melts of Europa's ice shell.

Graphical abstract: Water dynamics in eutectic solutions of sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate: implications for life in Europa's subsurface ocean and ice shell

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Jul 2023
Accepted
21 Nov 2023
First published
21 Nov 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024,26, 105-115

Water dynamics in eutectic solutions of sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate: implications for life in Europa's subsurface ocean and ice shell

D. Sieme and N. Rezaei-Ghaleh, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024, 26, 105 DOI: 10.1039/D3CP03455K

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