Europa is an exciting subject for astrobiologists because of its potential to provide a habitable environment outside of Earth. Most of our knowledge about the interior of this icy moon comes from remote observations of the near- surface and geophysical models of the interior. Most current models of the icy crust and deeper ocean of Europa use values of the physical properties for pure water. However, spectroscopic observations of the surface show the presence of salt in this water. The presence of solutes such as NaCl and MgSO4 could have a significant impact on physical properties such as melting/freezing point, and the thickness of the crust. We have conducted experiments to measure the phase relations of NaCl solutions up to 20% solute by weight at pressures up to 70MPa. This range was selected because it is equivalent to a ~75km thick ice crust on Europa. We have used our experimental results to model the potential thickness of Europa’s crust including this new information. The computational aspect of this project focuses on deconstructing a prior monte carlo style experiment. The purpose of this deconstruction was to determine which variables of the ~ 20 variables noted in the paper have the most significant impact on the thickness of Europa’s ice shelf. The results found show that variables impacted by the presence of salt are important for determining the overall thickness of the ice. This computational aspect confirms the importance of the experimental research we are conducting with the salt water compositions.
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