Europa may have much more shallow liquid water than scientists thought

Liquid in the icy shell of the Jovian moon may be behind the “double ridges” on its surface

Europa image

Sets of double ridges separated by troughs are some of the most common surface features on Europa (shown), one of Jupiter’s large icy moons. A study proposes a new idea for how such ridge systems are formed.

JPL-Caltech/NASA, DLR

Europa’s frozen surface is covered with distinctive pairs of ridges that straddle troughs of ice.