The chemistry of habitable oceans in the Solar system.

Authors

Jihua Hao, Yuke Zhu, Andrew H Knoll, Nicholas J Tosca, Chao He, Maggie C Y Lau Vetter, Li Liao, Peter W Crockford, Eva E Stüeken, Anya Huo, Jie Li, Javed Akhter Mondal, David C Catling, Yafang Song, Pengcheng Ju, Lu Pan, Fang Huang, Christopher R Glein

Published in

Nature communications. Volume 17. Issue 1. Jun 29, 2026. Epub Jun 29, 2026.

Abstract

Liquid water exists on the Earth and several other planetary bodies in our solar system. The chemical character of these aqueous reservoirs is central to evaluating their habitability. Here, we synthesize the chemical features of water reservoirs and their biological implications on the modern Earth. We then outline constraints on the evolutionary history of Earth's ocean chemistry and discuss its interplay with the biosphere. Furthermore, we examine the inferred chemical environments of water bodies on early Mars, dwarf planet Ceres, Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moons Enceladus and Titan. We conclude by outlining priority questions for future planetary habitability studies.

PMID:
42374024
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Jun 2026.

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