Abstract
AbstractModeling of the electrical conductivity (EC) of icy moon oceans has previously assumed that chloride, sulfate, and other ions released from rock leaching are the main solutes and carriers of EC. Here, we show that accreted volatiles, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia, can add a significant fraction of solutes in bodies whose volatile content was in part supplied from cometary materials. These volatiles can increase the EC of aqueous solutions above 1 S/m. Our salinity and EC estimates can serve as a basis for planning future magnetometer investigations at icy moons and dwarf planets. In particular, oceans expected in some of the Uranian satellites and Neptune's satellite Triton could have EC above 3 S/m as a result of accretion of both carbon dioxide and ammonia, even if rock leaching during water‐rock separation was limited, and if chlorine and sulfur abundances may be at CI carbonaceous chondritic levels.
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