JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2020

Session information

[E] Oral

U (Union ) » Union

[U-19] A deep dive into planetary habitability as related to subsurface architecture, energy, and water.

Tue. Jul 14, 2020 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM Ch.2

convener:Graham Heather Valeah, Vlada Stamenkovic(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Shino Suzuki(Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), Atsuko Kobayashi(Earth-Life Science Institute), Chairperson: Heather Valeah

Investigations of the three-dimensional structure of the Earth and other planetary bodies are transforming our understanding of the distribution and age of water, fluxes of elements like carbon in and out of the subsurface, character and density of energy and the nature of habitability and its limits. We are poised to frame the important fundamental questions concerning the complexities of chemical, physical, and biological interactions in the Earth's subsurface, and by inference planetary bodies like Mars and Europa. This session considers questions related to the subsurface architecture of planets by exploring geophysical and geochemical results from experiments and observations in deep mines and boreholes as well as modeling efforts. This session addresses the nature and diversity of crustal subsurface environments and our understanding of how the subsurface changes with geographic location and depth. this could encompass studies on the variability and cycling of carbon, water, and subsurface volatiles including brines, ices, clathrates, salts, methane, and oxidants. Of particular interest are studies related to the physical and chemical controls on planetary subsurface architecture that determines the storage, transport, and interaction of fluids and gases in the interiors of Earth and other moons and planets. We also invite contributions on models of the novel subsurface energy systems required to sustain life as well as studies exploring the origin, evolution, and dispersal of subsurface life (microbial, viral, and multicellular) as compared with the surface biosphere. We welcome abstracts that consider the potential for extant life in subsurface conditions as well as the preservation of biosignatures