Europa Simulation

Terra Europa — Terraformed Europa (unknown artist)

This is a simulation of what one would expect to find on a terraformed Europa, using formulas from Math And Terraforming. Please note that not even the supercomputers at NASA can provide us with a perfect simulation. The information showed here is only an approximation.

Basic data[]

Distance from Sun: 778.57 million km
Distance to Jupiter: 0.671 million km
Diameter: 3122 km
Solar Constant: 0.073
Mass: 0.008 Earths
Mean density: 3.013 kg/l
Orbital period: 3.551 Earth days
Jupiter's orbital period: 11.862 Earth years
Rotation axial tilt: below 10 degrees

Atmosphere[]

See Atmosphere Parameters

Europa is very close to Jupiter and has a low gravity. Because of this, it has a very small Hill sphere. The atmosphere after terraforming, if it will have a surface pressure of 1 bar, will be extremely fluffy.

During this simulation, we will use an atmosphere with the same pressure at sea level as Earth's and a similar composition.

Atmosphere stability for oxygen molecules:
- Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 4.116
- Europa's gravity (15 degrees C): 22.78
- Europa's gravity (-100 degrees C): 13.68
Atmosphere stability for water molecules:
- Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 7.320
- Europa's gravity (15 degrees C): 40.49
- Europa's gravity (-100 degrees C): 24.33
Atmosphere stability for hydrogen molecules:
- Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 65.88
- Europa's gravity (15 degrees C): 364.4
- Europa's gravity (-100 degrees C): 219.0

notes: A value below 10 means stability for over a million years, a value between 10 and 100 means stability between 0.1 and 10 millions of years, while a value higher then 100 means stability for less then 10 thousand years.

This calculation does not include solar wind erosion.

Conclusion: Europa will have an atmosphere more unstable then the Moon. Even if it is protected by Jupiter's magnetosphere, Europa will continuously lose both oxygen and water vapors. Water vapors will pass fast above the greenhouse layer, where they will cool and form icy clouds. A significant part will condense and fall back to the surface, but there will be significant losses. Hydrogen, resulted from water dissociation, will be lost very fast. So, Europa will need to replenish both its gasses and its water.

The atmosphere will look like this:

Ground average temperature: 15 degrees C

Surface pressure at sea level: 1
Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.68
Atmosphere breathable height: 93.3 km
Atmosphere total height: 278 km

Ground average temperature: -100 degrees C

Surface pressure at sea level: 1
Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.53
Atmosphere breathable height: 73.0 km
Atmosphere total height: 217 km

Combined: Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.62 Atmosphere breathable height: 76 km

Atmosphere total height: 250 km.

Basically, there will be two different atmospheric layers: below and above the greenhouse gasses. The lower layer will be hotter and will contain most of the air, while the upper layer will be cold and will compress the lower layer.

The atmosphere will be very fluffy.

Temperature[]

Main article: Temperature.

The first problem with Europa is that we need to gain the correct surface temperature. The Solar Constant is low (0.073), compared to Earth (1.98). Greenhouse Gases are needed. The Greenhouse Calculator provides us with some useful values. The needed amount of sulfur hexafluoride is 0.189 kg/sqm.

Climate Simulation[]

Main article: Climate.

On Earth, the average temperature is +15 degrees C. By using greenhouse gasses we will try the best to get a similar value.

Europa has a smaller diameter then Earth (0.245), a thing that will help air currents mix temperatures. The extremely fluffy atmosphere also helps us maintain a global temperature similar for the whole moon.

Average temperatures for each latitude:

poles: 13 C
75 deg: 14 C
60 deg: 15 C
45 deg: 15 C
30 deg: 15 C
15 deg: 15 C
equator: 15 C

Day - night cycle variation:

Europa has a longer day (3.551 Earth days). Because of this and the huge greenhouse effect needed, there will be very little differences in temperature.

Daily temperature variation: 2 degrees C
Equator day-night variations: 14 to 16 degrees C
Near pole day-night variations: 12 to 14 degrees C.

Altitude:

Because of the fluffy atmosphere, temperature will not decrease significantly with altitude. Anyway, Europa is a Plain Planet.

Seasons:

Europa has a very small axial tilt, so there will be no seasons.

Conclusion. Europa will behave like a tiny outer planet, protected by a huge greenhouse effect. Lowest and highest temperatures will be 14 and 16 C (around 57-61 F). There will be a monoclimate.

Water will accumulate in the atmosphere and humidity will tend to be close to 100%. When it will rain, it will be with rare droplets of water.

Geography[]

Europa is very flat, with very little altitude differences. The moon is covered with a global crust of water ice, with many cracks. Beneath, there is a global ocean that is constantly moving. There are three ways to terraform such a body:

Melt the ice and build an Oceanic Planet. This is the most easy way.
Build Artificial Continents. Because the ocean has strong currents, continents will move fast and will affect their integrity.
Cover the ice with Ground Insulation. Because of oceanic currents, the crust will keep on fragmenting, breaking the crust.

Oceans. If we melt the crust, the subsurface ocean will be exposed. some speculate that the ocean is alkaline or too salty for Earth life. In this case, we will need to adjust its chemical composition, a process that will be expensive. The ocean is large enough to replenish water to the atmosphere for along period of time. However, if we use ground insulation, we will need to build oceans above the surface.

Continents. It is questionable if Europa will be suitable for the construction of artificial continents, giving its strong ocean currents. If continents will be made, they will have the Geographic patterns settlers will want.

The Sky[]

As one can see above, the atmosphere of Europa will be very fluffy. Clouds and hazes will block visibility. It is possible that settlers will see blue sky only on rare occasions.

Still, assuming sky visibility similar to Earth, one will see the following celestial bodies:

The Sun - 1.79 units
Jupiter - 208 units
Almathea - 0.5 units
Io - 3.32 to 14.56 units
Ganymede - 3.02 to 13.19 units
Callisto - 1.99 to 4.00 units

To see how large a celestial body will look like, draw a circle of X mm on a sheet of paper and look at it from a distance of 1 m.

Mercury: 3.2 to 3.6 magnitude
Venus: 0.2 to 0.8 magnitude
Earth: 1.3 to 2.2 magnitude
- Moon: 5.2 to >6 magnitude
Mars: 4.2 to 5.5 magnitude
Saturn: 1.2 to 3.8 magnitude

Human Colonies[]

Population limit: 15.2 million
Land population feeding capacity: 11 people fed from one square km
Largest city supported by environment: 61 000 people

Assuming it will have similar types of terrain Earth will have, Europa can support a Population Limit of 15.2 million people.

If Europa will be an oceanic planet, we can imagine some large floating cities roaming on its surface. Also, if artificial continents will be built, there is a high chance that they will be small, concentrating the population.

Industry[]

There are many salts dissolved in the oceans of Europa, which can power local industrial centers. In addition, refined ores sent from Io can reach Europa for industrial centers.

With its low gravity and minerals dissolved in the ocean or shipped from nearby Io and Almathea, Europa has the potential to become an important industrial center.

Agriculture[]

Europa is far from the Sun. Plants don't receive too much light. Also, there will not be much open ground for crops. On the other hand, the moon will have a vast ocean, which can provide food for all settlers.

Transportation[]

With little gravity, airplanes will travel very easy. Also, with a global ocean, water transport will be very important. Basically, everything will float on the surface, cities and continents included.

Orbits around the moon are not stable for long. Gravity perturbations from Jupiter and other moons will affect orbits of any communication satellite. Because of this, telecommunications on Europa will use a multitude of satellites with ever changing orbits.

There will be one or more bases floating on the ocean, that will be used for spaceships. Without a large solid surface, large ships will find it difficult to land. Most interplanetary ships will dock at Himalia, while cargo and passengers will be transshipped to Europa by smaller ships.

Tourism[]

The sky will be cloud-covered nearly all year round. Because of this, the ocean of Europa will not be so popular. Still, with the very weak gravity, the ocean offers some unique advantages. It will be possible to run on the surface of the water without sinking in.

Wild Life[]

Europa will be a good place for oceanic life. However, the ocean will be very deep. Without near-surface coral reefs and without shores, marine life will not develop too much. Artificial islands are needed if we want to introduce birds and mammals. Also, many species of fish need a solid surface for breeding and laying eggs.