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JWST's hunt for habitable exoplanets finds disappointment, again | Scientific American
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that TRAPPIST-1 c, the second world in a seven-planet system, lacks an atmosphere. Joshua Krissansen-Totton, assisatnt professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is quoted. Read More -
Key building block of life found on ocean world orbiting Saturn | CNN
Thursday, June 15, 2023
A key chemical building block of life has been found on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Phosphorus was detected in salty ice grains that were released into space by plumes that erupt between the cracks of the moon's ice shell. Fabian Klenner, postdoctoral scholar of Earth and spaces sciences and co-author of the study, is quoted. Read More -
Phosphate, a key building block of life, found on Saturn's moon Enceladus
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
An international team including a University of Washington scientist has found that the water on one of Saturn's moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team led by the Freie Universit?t Berlin used data from NASA's Cassini space mission to detect evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
An artist's rendition of Saturn's moon Enceladus depicts hydrothermal activity on the seafloor and cracks in the moon's icy crust that allow material from the watery interior to be ejected into space. Those ejected particles, clues to the subsurface ocean, were analyzed by instruments on board the Cassini space mission. New analysis finds evidence of phosphates, a key building block for life as we know it.NASA/JPL-Caltech
Phosphorus, in the form of phosphates, is vital for all life on Earth. It forms the backbone of DNA and is part of cell membranes and bones. The new study, published June 14 in Nature, is the first to report direct evidence of phosphorus on an extraterrestrial ocean world.
The team found that phosphate is present in Enceladus' ocean at levels at least 100 times higher -- and perhaps a thousand times higher -- than in Earth's oceans.
"By determining such high phosphate concentrations readily available in Enceladus' ocean, we have now satisfied what is generally considered one of the strictest requirements in establishing whether celestial bodies are habitable," said third author Fabian Klenner, a UW postdoctoral researcher in Earth and space sciences. While at Freie Universit?t Berlin, Klenner did experiments that revealed the high phosphate concentrations present in Enceladus' ocean.
“A ‘soda ocean’ on a moon of Saturn has all the ingredients for life” | The New York Times “Scientists trace phosphates to Enceladus, boosting outlook for life on Saturn’s moon” | GeekWireOne of the most profound discoveries in planetary science over the past 25 years is that worlds with oceans beneath a surface layer of ice are common in our solar system. These ice-covered celestial bodies include the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn -- including Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus -- as well as even more distant celestial bodies, like Pluto.
NASA's Cassini mission explored Saturn, its rings and its moons from 2004 to 2017. It first discovered that Enceladus' harbors an ice-covered watery ocean, and analyzed material that erupted through cracks in the region of the moon's south pole.
The spacecraft was equipped with the Cosmic Dust Analyzer. which analyzed individual ice grains emitted from Enceladus and sent those measurements back to Earth. To determine the chemical composition of the grains, Klenner used a specialized setup in Berlin that mimicked the data generated by an ice grain hitting the instrument. He tried different chemical compositions and concentrations for his samples to try to match the unknown signatures in the spacecraft's observations.
"I prepared different phosphate solutions, and did the measurements, and we hit the bullseye. This was in perfect match with the data from space," Klenner said. "This is the first finding of phosphorus on an extraterrestrial ocean world."
Planets with surface oceans, like Earth, must reside within a narrow range of distances from their host stars (in what is known as the "habitable zone") to maintain temperatures at which water neither evaporates nor freezes. Worlds with an interior ocean like Enceladus, however, can occur over a much wider range of distances, greatly expanding the number of habitable worlds likely to exist across the galaxy.
In previous studies, the team at the Freie Universit?t Berlin determined that Enceladus harbors a "soda ocean," rich in dissolved carbonates, that also contains a vast variety of reactive and sometimes complex carbon-containing compounds. The team also found indications of hydrothermal environments on the seafloor. The new study now shows the unmistakable signatures of dissolved phosphates.
"Previous geochemical models were divided on the question of whether Enceladus' ocean contains significant quantities of phosphates at all," said lead author Frank Postberg at Freie Universit?t Berlin. "These measurements leave no doubt that substantial quantities of this essential substance are present in the ocean water."
To investigate how the ocean on Enceladus can maintain such high concentrations of phosphate, geochemical lab experiments and modeling included in the new paper were conducted by a Japan-based team led by second author Yasuhito Sekine at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and a U.S.-based team led by fourth author Christopher Glein at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Other authors are from Germany, the U.S., Japan and Finland.
For more information, contact Klenner at fklenner@uw.edu and Postberg at frank.postberg@fu-berlin.de.
Adapted from a Freie Universit?t Berlin press release.
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Phosphorus in Enceladus's 'soda ocean' adds to prospects for life | The New York Times
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Using data from the Cassini spacecraft, scientists discovered the presence of phosphates on icy Enceladus. Fabian Klenner, postdoctoral scholar of Earth and space sciences and co-author of the study, is quoted. Read More -
Scientists trace phosphates to Enceladus, boosting hopes for life | GeekWire
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life as we know it, has been detected for the first time in water samples that can be traced back to Enceladus, an ice-covered moon of Saturn. Fabian Klenner, postdoctoral scholar of Earth and space sciences and co-author of the study, is quoted. Read More -
ESS Undergraduate Student Adviser Awarded 2023 PSO DEIB Outstanding Impact Award!
Thursday, May 18, 2023
ESS Undergraduate Adviser Melissa Pritchard was one of the three awardees of the inaugural, 2023 PSO Staff Award for Outstanding Impact in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Melissa was selected by a committee of professional staff colleagues for this award among a laudable group of nominees. The UW Professional Staff Organization believes that diversity and inclusivity are integral to excellence and acknowledge that this critical and important work is carried out by our colleagues across campus. Therefore, we established this award to recognize exemplary leadership in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The committee was impressed with what Melissa has done to date that demonstrates a deep commitment to the advancement of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging work directly within the UW community and other communities. Their unwavering commitment to social justice and diversity through vulnerability has made a significant impact on those around them. They are an inspirational leader, lighting the way for others in their department and the larger UW community. Read More -
A disaster the size of multiple Katrinas is building off Washington's coast | Politico
Monday, May 8, 2023
The Coast Guard is the first line of defense against a massive tsunami. Will it also be an early victim? Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, and Ian Miller, a coastal hazards specialist at UW-based Washington Sea Grant, are quoted. Read More -
Experts say it's always good to be prepared for an earthquake | KREM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
If you lived in the Pacific northwest for any length of time, you have no doubt heard the warnings about the risk of earthquakes. But what about the risk in eastern Washington? Are there fault lines in the region that we should be concerned about? Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is interviewed. Read More -
New discovery along the Cascadia Subduction Zone | FOX 13
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Local scientists at the University of Washington have made an exciting discovery on the seafloor along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The same zone capable of bringing "the big one", a 9.0 earthquake to western Washington. Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is interviewed. Read More -
He's studied these 'living fossils' for over 50 years -- They're still a bit of a mystery | KUOW
Monday, April 17, 2023
Peter Ward, a UW professor of earth and space sciences and of biology, is an expert on one of the oldest and least understood animals on earth -- the nautilus. Read More