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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.

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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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The author declares no competing interests.

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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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