Dhaka, Jan. 27 -- Jupiter's icy moon Europa may be sending chemicals that could support life to its hidden subsurface ocean, according to a new study by Washington State University researchers.

Europa's ocean lies beneath a 30-kilometre-thick ice layer and may contain twice as much water as all Earth's oceans. Unlike Earth, the ocean lacks sunlight and oxygen, so any life there would depend on chemical energy. Scientists have long wondered how oxidants on the moon's surface could reach the ocean below.

The study finds that salt-rich ice near the surface may be denser and weaker than surrounding ice. Over time, this ice could break and slowly sink through the thicker layer to the ocean. This process, called lithospheric foundering, is si...