Stability of high-temperature salty ice suggests electrolyte permeability in water-rich exoplanet icy mantles
Hernandez, J.-A.; Caracas, R.; Labrosse, S. (2022). Stability of high-temperature salty ice suggests electrolyte permeability in water-rich exoplanet icy mantles. Nature Comm. 13: 3303. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30796-5
In: Nature Communications. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2041-1723; e-ISSN 2041-1723, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Hernandez, J.-A.
- Caracas, R.
- Labrosse, S.
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| Abstract |
Electrolytes play an important role in the internal structure and dynamics of water-rich satellites and potentially water-rich exoplanets. However, in planets, the presence of a large high-pressure ice mantle is thought to hinder the exchange and transport of electrolytes between various liquid and solid deep layers. Here we show, using first-principles simulations, that up to 2.5 wt% NaCl can be dissolved in dense water ice at interior conditions of water-rich super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. The salt impurities enhance the diffusion of H atoms, extending the stability field of recently discovered superionic ice, and push towards higher pressures the transition to the stiffer ice X phase. Scaling laws for thermo-compositional convection show that salts entering the high pressure ice layer can be readily transported across. These findings suggest that the high-pressure ice mantle of water-rich exoplanets is permeable to the convective transport of electrolytes between the inner rocky core and the outer liquid layer. |
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