Apr 28, 2022
The search for alien life in our solar system may have taken a step forward. Scientists discovered similarities between ice found in Greenland and the frozen shell covering Jupiter’s icy moon. The moon is called Europa. The discovery, scientists say, raises the possibility of liquid water. There could be life in the water.
It almost certainly would not be advanced life, though. If anything, it would be primitive organisms. They would live between “double ridges” in the ice, researchers said.
Stanford University researchers made the discovery during an unrelated climate change study. They found recently formed ridges on Greenland's ice sheet. They were caused by water flowing through cracks in the ice and refreezing. The ridges looked like larger ones that cover Europa's surface. If both formed in similar ways, pockets of flowing water may have chemicals needed for life on Europa.
Scientists have wondered if Europa's oceans contain life. If so, these oceans might be out of reach. They lie under a sheet of ice at least 10 miles thick. At that depth, life might not be able to form. Water within the ridges, though, could be less than a mile below the surface.
Photo from Reuters.
How Do We Measure Sea Level?
This article and video explain why sea levels are rising and how NASA measures sea levels using satellites.
NASA Climate Time Machine
This interactive resource provides four different climate conditions to explore: Arctic Sea Ice over time, predicted Sea Level Rise in four different coastal areas, Carbon Dioxide Concentrations over time, and Global Average Temperature over time.
Investigating Deforestation Through an Earth Systems View Using Landsat
In this lesson plan, students analyze imagery taken from NASA's Landsat satellite, a time-lapse video of deforestation, and a global land cover map to identify the different causes of deforestation.