Revealing Europa’s Subsurface Chemistry through Earth-based Spectroscopy

Locked beneath its icy crust, Jupiter’s moon Europa likely harbors one of the largest bodies of liquid water in the Solar System - a global, salty, internal ocean that may present a hospitable environment for life. Currently, investigations of the composition of Europa’s geologically young, fractured surface provide our best window into its ocean chemistry and, thus, its potential habitability. I will discuss how I have been using Earth-based spectroscopic observations from facilities like the Hubble Space Telescope, Keck Observatory, and JWST to improve our understanding of Europa’s surface chemistry and its relationship to the internal ocean. These observations complement the past and future spacecraft exploration of the Jupiter system and are revealing new avenues for up-close investigation by the upcoming Europa Clipper mission.

Speaker: Samantha Trumbo, UC San Diego

Attend in person or online (see weblink)

Room: 350/372