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The Planetary Society Weblog

By Emily Lakdawalla

Europa on Earth? The sulfur springs of Borup Fiord Pass, Ellesmere Island

Jun. 21, 2006 | 09:03 PDT | 16:03 UTC

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Over the coming two weeks, a four-person team of scientists will be traveling to the top of the world to explore a unique site on Earth where sulfur-rich waters seep from springs atop a glacier, and I will -- I hope -- be bringing you updates on the field expedition here. The site -- Borup Fiord Pass, on Ellesmere Island -- may be the best analog on Earth for the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.

Click to enlarge >

Stephen Grasby samples sulfur spring discharge at Borup Fiord Pass
Credit: Stephen E. Grasby

The site has been visited several times in the past by Canadian geologist Stephen Grasby, who has been studying its unique geochemistry. Apparently Steve was reading Scientific American one day and came across a story about Europa written by scientist Bob Pappalardo. In the article, Bob talked at length about the ruddy, sulfur-rich stains on Europa's icy surface, and their possible links to the composition of the subsurface. Steve immediately contacted Bob and told him about the Borup Fiord Pass field site as a possible analog to Europa. Now they're collaborating on an expedition, and Bob is sending along his graduate student, who'll be gathering data for her dissertation, on the chemistry and microbiology of this site, how ground data can be linked to remote sensing observations through aerial photography and hyperspectral imagery, and its applications to Europa.

A few months ago, Bob approached The Planetary Society because the team had exhausted their options for funding a key part of the trip, and we were as excited about the site as he was, so we stepped in with the remaining funding that they needed to get going. We only asked that they send us updates to keep our members informed about what the expedition encounters.

The four-person team leaves Calgary today; I've just heard from Steve, and they are on their way. They have satellite phones. We're hopeful that we'll be able to get emailed updates from them via the satellite phones, but they may just have to call me; I will do my best to report back to you about their experiences as I get any updates from them. In the meantime, here is some background information on the sulfur springs of Borup Fiord Pass. Stay tuned for further updates!