Water Worlds in the Solar System

846 Pages·2023·29.248 MB·English

by  Antony Joseph

Water Worlds in the
Solar System
“Either write something worth reading or do something
worth writing”
Benjamin Franklin— (Inventor of lightning arrester,
discoverer of Gulf Stream, and an able administrator)
Water Worlds in the
Solar System
Antony Joseph
Formerly Chief Scientist at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, India
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Dedication
To Professor Stephen Hawking, World-renowned
theoretical physicist, who shaped modern
cosmology and inspired millions
(January 8, 1942–March 14, 2018).
v
Other Books by Dr. Antony Joseph through 2016
Tsunamis: Detection, Monitoring, and Early-Warning Technologies
Elsevier / Academic Press, New York, 448 p. (2011)
Measuring Ocean Currents: Tools, Technologies, and Data
Elsevier, New York, 426 p. (2013)
Investigating Seafloors and Oceans: From Mud Volcanoes to Giant Squid
Elsevier, New York, 581 p. (2016)
Contents
Foreword xix 1.9 Importance of radiogenic heating
Preface xxiii and tidal dissipation in the generation
Acknowledgments xxvii and sustenance of extraterrestrial
subsurface ocean worlds 44
1.10 Shedding light on extraterrestrial
bodies—role of astronomical research 45
References 46
1. Solar/planetary formation Bibliography 53
and evolution
2. Geological timeline of significant
1.1 Planet formation 1
events on Earth
1.1.1 Terrestrial planet formation 6
1.1.2 Giant planet formation 7 2.1 An era from 4.5 to 4 billion years ago
1.2 Asteroids, meteorites, and chondrites 9 when the entire Earth was a “Fire Ball” 55
1.3 Giant-impact theory on the origin 2.2 Importance of greenhouse gases in the
of Earth’s Moon 14 atmosphere of the early Earth 55
1.3.1 Single giant impact theory 15 2.3 Genesis of water on Earth 57
1.3.2 Multiple giant impact theory 22 2.3.1 Water on Earth through mantle
1.3.3 The concept of lunar magma ocean evolution 59
(LMO) of global dimensions 29 2.3.2 Water brought to Earth by comets
1.4 Influence of Moon-forming impacts and asteroids 59
on the environmental conditions 2.4 Indispensability of water, biologically
on the early Earth 31 important chemical elements, and
1.5 Earth’s internal structure, development, energy to sustain life as we know it 62
orbit, and rotation 32 2.5 Formation of liquid water oceans on
1.5.1 Influence of collisions 32 Earth about 3.8 billion years ago 65
1.5.2 Features of Earth’s core 32 2.6 Importance of deuterium to hydrogen
1.5.3 Earth’s paleo-rotation and ratio of water 67
revolution—day: ~21 h; year: 2.7 Roles of Earth’s Moon and Sun in
~13 months and ~400 days 33 generating tides—influences of local
1.5.4 Earth’s inclination and orbit 34 bathymetry and shoreline boundary on
1.6 Water and frost line in the astrophysical modifying tidal range and tidal pattern 69
environments 34 2.7.1 General characteristics of tidal
1.6.1 Water in the protoplanetary disk oscillations 70
of the Sun 35 2.7.2 Topographical influences on tidal
1.6.2 Frost line 36 range and tidal pattern 72
1.6.3 Water stored on the surface and 2.7.3 Tidal bore—wall of tumbling and
in the ground of modern Earth 38 foaming water waves in some
1.7 Water-abundant celestial bodies in geometrically special water bodies
the Solar System—brief overview 39 during a spring tide flood tide 73
1.8 Importance of understanding Earth’s 2.7.4 Tidal currents—their role in
oceans in the search for life in mixing of ocean waters 75
extraterrestrial ocean worlds—NASA’s 2.7.5 Implications of coastal tides
ocean worlds exploration program 40 and tidal bores 76
vii
viii Contents
2.8 Appearance of microbes on Earth amino acids—Miller–Urey “prebiotic
about 3.7 billion years ago 77 soup” experiment 116
2.9 Stromatolites appearing on Earth 3.1.2 Chemical processes at submarine
about 3.5 billion years ago 77 hydrothermal vents 120
2.10 Initiation of plate tectonics on Earth 3.1.3 Life brought to Earth from elsewhere
between 3.5 and 3.3 billion years ago 79 in space 128
2.11 The great oxidation event ~2.4–2.0 billion 3.2 Biological evolution 129
years ago—an event that led to the 3.2.1 Discovery of DNA and its
banded iron formations and the rise sequencing—the intriguing story
of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere 81 of combined efforts by a group of
2.12 An era when the entire Earth scientists from different disciplines 131
became fully covered with thick ice 3.2.2 Role of National Human Genome
~750–635 million years ago—“Snowball Research Institute (NHGRI) in
Earth” hypothesis 83 supporting development of new
2.13 Multiple mass extinction events on technologies for DNA sequencing 141
Earth—important for understanding life 83 3.2.3 Discovery of RNA and its
2.13.1 Ordovician–Silurian extinction: sequencing—a combined effort
~440 million years ago 83 by a group of researchers 141
2.13.2 Late Devonian extinction: 3.2.4 Genome sequencing 147
~365 million years ago 85 3.2.5 Dark DNA 147
2.13.3 Permian–Triassic extinction: 3.2.6 Categorization of all living organisms
~253 million years ago 87 into two major divisions: the cellular
2.13.4 Triassic–Jurassic extinction: and the viral “empires” and three
~201 million years ago 87 primary cellular domains—archaea,
2.13.5 The K–Pg extinction: ~66 million bacteria, and eukarya 148
years ago: extinction of dinosaurs 3.3 Origins of life on Earth—importance of
from Earth and subsequent organic molecules 150
appearance of modern humans’ 3.4 Life and living systems—interpretations 152
distant ancestors 88 3.5 Why do a few million years or more are
2.14 Carbonate–silicate cycle and its role necessary for evolution from prebiotic
as a dynamic climate buffer 90 chemical phase to biological phase? 153
2.15 Occurrence of a sharp global warming 3.6 Understanding the evolution of life 153
~56 million years ago 92 3.7 Influence of thermodynamic
2.15.1 Consequences 92 disequilibrium on life 155
2.15.2 Causes 92 3.8 Extraterrestrial life in the Solar System—
2.16 Volcano eruptions on land causing implications of Kumar’s hypothesis 156
atmospheric cooling and those 3.9 Looking for possibility of extraterrestrial
happening underwater causing life in the Solar System—deriving clues
abnormal atmospheric warming 97 from early Earth’s conducive atmosphere
2.17 Synthesis of marine proxy temperature for beginning of abundant life colonizing
data across the Paleocene–Eocene the Earth 159
thermal maximum 99 References 160
2.18 Fate of excess carbon released during Bibliography 166
the Paleocene–Eocene thermal
maximum event 100 4. Biosignatures—The prime targets in the
References 100 search for life beyond Earth
Bibliography 105
4.1 Life 167
4.2 Use of fossil lipids for life-detection 169
3. Beginnings of life on Earth
4.3 Biosignatures 169
3.1 Origins of life and potential environments— 4.3.1 Biosignatures of microorganisms 170
multiple hypotheses on chemical 4.3.2 Chemical biosignatures 170
evolution preceding biological evolution 115 4.3.3 Morphological biosignatures 172
3.1.1 Lightning in the early atmosphere 4.4 Serpentinization—implications for the
and the consequent production of search for biosignatures 174
Contents ix
4.5 Biosignatures versus bioindicators 175 5.6 Microbial life on and inside rocks 211
4.6 Life and biomarkers 175 5.7 Microbial life beneath the seafloor 214
4.6.1 Biomarker 175 5.8 Microbial life in Antarctic ice sheet 216
4.6.2 The search for life on Mars 176 5.9 The year-2021 discovery of sessile
4.6.3 A potential biomarker identified benthic community far beneath an
on Venus 177 Antarctic ice shelf 217
4.7 Identification of biosignature in 5.10 Microbial life at the driest desert in the
Antarctic rocks 177 world 218
4.8 Existence of biosignatures under diverse 5.11 Tardigrades—Important extremophiles
environmental conditions 178 useful for investigating life’s tolerance
4.9 Characterizing extraterrestrial biospheres limit beyond earth 218
through absorption features in 5.11.1 Temperature tolerance in
their spectra 179 tardigrades 219
4.10 Means of studying biosignatures 180 5.11.2 Desiccation tolerance in
4.10.1 Identification of stromatolites using tardigrades 220
portable network graphics analysis 5.11.3 Radiation tolerance in tardigrades 221
of layered structures captured in 5.11.4 Dormancy strategies in tardigrades 223
digital images 180 5.11.5 Ability of tardigrades to cope with
4.10.2 Characterization of molecular high hydrostatic pressure 224
biosignatures using time-of-flight 5.11.6 Effect of extreme environmental
secondary ion mass spectrometry 181 stresses on tardigrades’ DNA 224
4.11 Detecting biosignature gases on 5.12 Role of tardigrades as potential model
extrasolar terrestrial planets 186 organisms in space research 225
4.12 False positives and false negatives 189 5.13 Discovery of a living Bdelloid Rotifer
4.13 Potential biosignatures—molecules that from 24,000-year-old Arctic permafrost 226
can be produced under both biological 5.14 Archaea—single-celled microorganisms
and nonbiological mechanisms but with no distinct nucleus—constituting a
selectively/uniquely attributable to third domain in the phylogenetic
the action of biology 190 tree of life 227
4.14 Atmospheric chemical disequilibrium (a 5.14.1 The intriguing history of the
generalized biosignature)—a proposed discovery of archaea 227
method for detecting extraterrestrial 5.14.2 General features of archaea 230
biospheres 192 5.14.3 Unique feature of archaea 230
4.15 Identification of amino acids in Murchison 5.14.4 Diverse sizes and shapes exhibited
meteorite and Atarctic micrometeorites 192 by archaea 230
4.16 Major challenges lurking in the study of 5.14.5 Extremophile archaea—halophiles,
extrasolar biosignature gases 194 thermophiles, alkaliphiles, and
References 194 acidophiles 231
Bibliography 200 5.14.6 Extreme halophilic and
hyperthermophilic archaea 231
5. Extremophiles—Organisms that survive 5.14.7 Implications of studies on archaea
for the search for life on
and thrive in extreme environmental
extraterrestrial worlds 235
conditions
5.15 How do extremophiles survive and thrive
5.1 Relevance of astrobiology 201 in extreme environmental conditions—
5.2 Habitability 201 clues from study of the DNA 236
5.3 Importance of liquid water in maintaining 5.16 Revival of panspermia concept
habitability on celestial bodies 205 encouraged by the discovery of
5.4 Habitability of extremophilic and survival limits of tardigrades in
extremotolerant bacteria under extreme high-speed impacts 237
environmental conditions 206 5.16.1 Panspermia concept 237
5.5 Why do extremophiles survive in extreme 5.16.2 Ability of tardigrades to survive
environments? Application of exopolymers high-speed impact shocks 239
derived from extremophiles in the food, References 242
pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries 209 Bibliography 251