As the ice changed, the frozen ocean would have shrunk, creating an entirely different type of feature known as compressional fractures, which are not seen on Pluto's surface. Long geologic faults on Pluto's surface suggest that a liquid ocean once existed beneath its surface. New research suggests that ocean still splashes today. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI "We don't see the things on the surface we'd expect if there had been a global contraction," Hammond said. "So we conclude that ice II has not formed, and therefore that the ocean hasn't completely frozen." Ice II would have formed only if the dwarf planet's outer shell were at least 160 miles (260 kilometers) thick, putting sufficient pressure on the underlying ice, the statement said. Under the thinner shell, the ocean could have remained regular ice, not shrinking at all. Hammond's model suggests that the shell might be closer to 190 miles (300 km) thick, thanks to high temperatures in the core, according to the paper. The addition of nitrogen and methane ice spotted on the surface of the tiny world may also help keep the water warm. "Those exotic ices are actually good insulators," Hammond said. That means oceans could lie not only inside tiny Pluto but also in other similar worlds in the far reaches of the Kuiper Belt, the sphere of ice and rock at the edge of the solar system. "That's amazing to me," Hammond said. "The possibility that you have vast liquid water ocean habitats so far from the sun on Pluto and that the same could also be possible on — other Kuiper Belt objects as well is absolutely incredible." — The research was published online on June 15 in the journal .
As the ice changed, the frozen ocean would have shrunk, creating an entirely different type of feature known as compressional fractures, which are not seen on Pluto's surface. Long geologic faults on Pluto's surface suggest that a liquid ocean once existed beneath its surface. New research suggests that ocean still splashes today. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI "We don't see the things on the surface we'd expect if there had been a global contraction," Hammond said. "So we conclude that ice II has not formed, and therefore that the ocean hasn't completely frozen." Ice II would have formed only if the dwarf planet's outer shell were at least 160 miles (260 kilometers) thick, putting sufficient pressure on the underlying ice, the statement said. Under the thinner shell, the ocean could have remained regular ice, not shrinking at all. Hammond's model suggests that the shell might be closer to 190 miles (300 km) thick, thanks to high temperatures in the core, according to the paper. The addition of nitrogen and methane ice spotted on the surface of the tiny world may also help keep the water warm. "Those exotic ices are actually good insulators," Hammond said. That means oceans could lie not only inside tiny Pluto but also in other similar worlds in the far reaches of the Kuiper Belt, the sphere of ice and rock at the edge of the solar system. "That's amazing to me," Hammond said. "The possibility that you have vast liquid water ocean habitats so far from the sun on Pluto — and that the same could also be possible on other Kuiper Belt objects as well — is absolutely incredible." The research was published online on June 15 in the journal .
X2-Radio_2016-7-24.docx