Short presentation I gave to a group of USC students

1. The
world’s
deepest
hydrothermal
vents:
An
analog
for
Europa?
Emma
Versteegh
Caltech
postdoctoral
scholar
Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory,
California
InsCtute
of
Technology
©
2014
California
InsCtute
of
Technology.
Government
sponsorship
acknowledged.

2. NASA/JPL

3. Europa
NASA/JPL
Chyba
&
Hand
(2001)

5. The
world’s
deepest:
Mid-­‐Cayman
Rise
Jack
Cook,
WHOI
NOAA
Okeanos
Explorer

6. Exploring
the
deep
ocean
Advanced
Imaging
and
VisualizaCon
Laboratory,
WHOI
h[p://www.nauCluslive.org/

7. Life
without
sunlight:
Food
producCon
&
where
it
comes
from
Food
=
carbohydrates
(Cm(H2O)n)
Photosynthesis
makes
carbohydrates:
6
CO2
+
12
H2O
+
sunlight
→
C6H12O6
+
6
H2O
+
6
O2
Chemosynthesis
also
makes
carbohydrates
6
CO2
+
6
H2O
+
3
H2S
→
C6H12O6
+
3
H2SO4
Would
work
on
Europa
too
• QuanCfy
biomass
expected?
→
look
on
Earth
• How
much
new
biomass/Cme?
→
food
web
NASA/JPL/Ted
Stryk

8. Stable
isotopes
in
the
food
web
Elements
C,
N
&
S
Atoms
of
different
weights
FracConate
in
(bio)chemical
processes
You
are
what
you
eat
• +1
(δ13C
‰
vs.
VPDB)
• +3
(δ15N
‰
vs.
AIR)
• +?
(δ34S
‰
vs.
CDT)

9. Food
web

10. Rimicaris
hybisae
dense

11. Rimicaris
hybisae
sparse

12. From
the
ocean
to
the
laboratory

13. Shrimp
δ13C,
δ15N
&
δ34S
values

14. Food
web

15. Ongoing
work
• Do
they
parCally
rely
on
photosyntheCc
carbon?
• Carbon
and
sulfur
in
basalts
• Deep
sea
corals:
are
they
vent-­‐related?

16. What
about
Europa?
• We
help
understand
what
kind
of
life
might
be
there,
and
how
much
• We
help
develop
methods
to
detect
life
h[p://www.daviddarling.info/

18. NASA/JPL-­‐Caltech/Space
Science
InsCtute