Dynamic Europa ocean shows transient Taylor columns and convection driven by ice melting and salinity. (arXiv:2006.02242v2 [astro-ph.EP] UPDATED)
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ashkenazy_Y/0/1/0/all/0/1">Yosef Ashkenazy</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Tziperman_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Eli Tziperman</a>

The deep (~100 km) ocean of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, covered by a thick icy
shell, is one of the most probable places in the solar system to find
extraterrestrial life. Yet, its ocean dynamics and its interaction with the ice
cover have received little attention. Previous studies suggested that Europa’s
ocean is turbulent using a global model and taking into account non-hydrostatic
effects and the full Coriolis force. Here we add critical elements, including
consistent top and bottom heating boundary conditions and the effects of icy
shell melting and freezing on ocean salinity. We find weak stratification that
is dominated by salinity variations. The ocean exhibits strong transient
convection, eddies, and zonal jets. Transient motions organize in Taylor
columns parallel to Europa’s axis of rotation, are static outside of the
tangent cylinder and propagate equatorward within the cylinder. The meridional
oceanic heat transport is intense enough to result in a nearly uniform ice
thickness, that is expected to be observable in future missions.

The deep (~100 km) ocean of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, covered by a thick icy
shell, is one of the most probable places in the solar system to find
extraterrestrial life. Yet, its ocean dynamics and its interaction with the ice
cover have received little attention. Previous studies suggested that Europa’s
ocean is turbulent using a global model and taking into account non-hydrostatic
effects and the full Coriolis force. Here we add critical elements, including
consistent top and bottom heating boundary conditions and the effects of icy
shell melting and freezing on ocean salinity. We find weak stratification that
is dominated by salinity variations. The ocean exhibits strong transient
convection, eddies, and zonal jets. Transient motions organize in Taylor
columns parallel to Europa’s axis of rotation, are static outside of the
tangent cylinder and propagate equatorward within the cylinder. The meridional
oceanic heat transport is intense enough to result in a nearly uniform ice
thickness, that is expected to be observable in future missions.

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