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OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM

Water–rock interactions within icy worlds

Nature Astronomy volume 6, pages 525–526 (2022)Cite this article

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It has been generally thought that small icy bodies in the outer Solar System were chemically inactive due to its coldness. Laboratory experiments change this view by showing that water–rock interactions occur even in ice–rock mixtures.

Liquid water plays many roles on Earth. It interacts with rocks on the surface and in the subsurface, leading to dissolution of elements to water and fixation of volatiles, for example, carbon dioxide (CO2), into rocks1. These water–rock interactions largely control the chemistry of Earth’s surface water and groundwater1. As for Earth’s life, water–rock interactions often provide chemical energy and nutrients. Considering the importance of water–rock interactions in determining the water chemistry and habitability on Earth, planetary geochemists are beginning to examine how water–rock interactions take place in extreme aqueous environments beyond Earth. Writing in Nature Astronomy, Zandanel and colleagues2 show that water–rock interactions would proceed geologically rapidly even at sub-zero temperatures in ice–rock mixtures of small icy bodies in the outer Solar System.

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Fig. 1: An illustration of icy water–rock interactions possibly occurred in the interior of small icy bodies.

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute (image of Rhea).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Yasuhito Sekine

  2. Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

    Yasuhito Sekine

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  1. Yasuhito Sekine
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Correspondence to Yasuhito Sekine.

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Sekine, Y. Water–rock interactions within icy worlds. Nat Astron 6, 525–526 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01682-3

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