Ocean Worlds Mineralogy

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the forthcoming Special Issue of Minerals entitled “Ocean Worlds Mineralogy”. The present issue seeks contributions focusing on the surface composition of outer Solar System bodies which may host or are known to host liquid water. Possible and confirmed ocean worlds are distributed among different classes of objects in the outer Solar System, from the asteroid main belt (Ceres), through the icy satellites of the giant planets (Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Enceladus, Dione, and Triton), to Pluto. This is reflected in the variegated mineralogy, encompassing both refractory-dominated and volatile-rich surfaces.

We aim to collect results from the analysis of space-based and ground-based observations, including modeling and laboratory activity, which characterize the different mineralogical phases and their distribution in ocean worlds. We encourage contributions correlating the observed composition with the exogenic and endogenic processes shaping the target surfaces and investigating the connection between the surface geochemical properties and the subsurface liquid reservoirs. We also consider of particular interest the characterization of organic compounds in ocean worlds, and the link with the delivery and formation processes of organics on these targets, among which the chemistry of C-bearing molecules in a liquid environment is an ocean world prerogative. This appears to be of paramount importance for the identification of the paths leading to the formation of prebiotic material in extraterrestrial environments.

Dr. Maria Cristina De Sanctis
Dr. Mauro Ciarniello
Dr. Katrin Stephan

Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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