###Exploring the geochemistry of Jupiter’s ice moons
Project ID: 2228bd1105 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Physical Sciences
UCL Lead department: Chemistry
Lead Supervisor: Christoph Salzmann
Project Summary:
On a cold winter’s evening in late 1609, Galileo Galilei discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter with a self-made telescope. Three of these moons, Europa, Ganymede and Calisto, are large ice moons with complex geological histories. The next decade will see tremendous excitement with several space probes sent to the Jovian system including Europa Clipper and JUICE (Jupiter icy moons explorer). To understand the data collected by these space probes, a detailed understanding of the geochemistry of the ice moons is essential. At present, the geochemistry of ice including the formation of subsurface oceans is in its infancy with substantial knowledge gaps at the fundamental science level. The Salzmann group at UCL is one of the leading experimental teams in this area of research (www.salzmannlab.org). This project will address several key questions: (1) How is the crystallisation of water under pressure influenced by the presence of salts including chlorides, sulphates and bicarbonates and also pH? (2) Which materials form when salty solutions freeze under pressure? (3) What are the phase-transition, heat-conductivity and mechanical properties of these materials? (4) Can mechanical grinding achieve the mixing of ice and salts below the melting point and lead to the formation of amorphous materials? This part will simulate the extreme tidal forces experienced by the ice moons and will include the development of new instrumentation. Overall, the project will give a student with a degree in chemistry, physics or earth sciences a rich experience and training in materials characterisation including crystallography, spectroscopy, microscopy and calorimetry. The project will be carried out in collaboration with scientists at JPL / NASA, the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the Open University. In addition to in-house experimental work at UCL, this project will make extensive use of national and international neutron and X-ray facilities.