Salt- and gas-filled ices under planetary conditions.

Abstract

In recent years, evidence has emerged that solid water can contain substantial amounts of guest species, such as small gas molecules-in gas hydrate structures-or ions-in salty ice structures-and that these 'filled' ice structures can be stable under pressures of tens of Gigapascals and temperatures of hundreds of Kelvins. The inclusion of guest species can strongly modify the density, vibrational, diffusive and conductivity properties of ice under high pressure, and promote novel exotic properties. In this review, we discuss our experimental findings and molecular dynamics simulation results on the structures formed by salt- and gas-filled ices, their unusual properties, and the unexpected dynamical phenomena observed under pressure and temperature conditions relevant for planetary interiors modelling. This article is part of the theme issue 'The physics and chemistry of ice: scaffolding across scales, from the viability of life to the formation of planets'.