Dr. Cyril Mergny

Dr. Cyril Mergny

Post-Doc in Planetary Science

Europa: A Lighthouse for Spectroscopy

The solar flux heating the surface of Europa has seasonal and geological fluctuations that lead to varying efficiency of the thermal crystallization. An unprecedented implication of this is that thanks to the simulated competition between crystallization and radiation, we can observe periodic variations of the crystallinity profile.

Missions like Europa Clipper and JUICE have the ability to observe these seasonal variations during their operational lifetimes.

drawing

Seasonal variations of Europa's ice crystallinity in the first micrometer depth. The crystallinity can have fluctuations of up to 35% in mid-latitude regions.

See our article “The blinking crystallinity of Europa: A competition between irradiation and thermal alteration” at DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/202453058.