List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System

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Listed below are the largest ocean, lakes and seas in the Solar System and beyond includes single bodies of water or other liquid on or near the surface of a solid round body (terrestrial planet, planetoid, or moon).

Contents

Currently, cold surface bodies of liquid are found on two worlds in the Solar System, Earth and Saturn's moon Titan. [1] Earth is the only planet with liquid water on its surface. The other "oceans" are found under thick covers of surface ice. If both liquid and frozen water are counted, Earth ranks fifth in volume of its oceans. [2] Recent studies indicate a large underground saltwater ocean present on Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, with estimated water volume eight times greater than Earth’s world ocean. [3]

The fourth largest of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, while smaller than Earth’s moon, ranks fourth in water volume, estimated to be twice more than on Earth. [2] Latest analysis using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope indicates that the carbon dioxide found on the icy surface of Europa likely originated in the subsurface ocean which could potentially be habitable. [4]

Scientists predict "oceans" beneath the ice of the Jupiter's moon Callisto cratered surface and the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Saturn's moon Titan is also thought to have a salty subsurface ocean of water - as salty as the Dead Sea on Earth. [3] Additionally, research suggests that Saturn's moon Mimas might be hiding a liquid water ocean beneath its impact-battered surface. A subsurface ocean at Neptune's moon Triton is considered possible as well. Mysterious fault lines on duraft planet Pluto may suggest that it has a hidden subsurface ocean. [3]

Lava lakes are found on Earth and Jupiter's moon Io. Subsurface oceans or seas are suspected to exist on some of Saturn's other moons, the asteroid Ceres, the larger trans-Neptunian objects, and ice planets in planetary systems.

Recent analysis of the interior of Ganymede suggests that it and some of the other icy bodies may not have a single interior global ocean but several stacked ones, separated by different phases of ice, with the lowest liquid layer adjacent to the rocky mantle below. [5] [6]

In June 2020, NASA scientists reported that it is likely that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies of their internal heating rates. The majority of such worlds would probably have subsurface oceans, similar to those of the icy moons Europa and Enceladus. [7] [8]

List

Largest known or predicted oceans, lakes and seas, with composition and dimensions, grouped by celestial body and sortable by size, depth, etc.
BodyType of objectLiquid volume in zetta liters [9] Ocean/Lake/SeaCompositionLocationArea (km2)Average depth (km)ImageNotes
Earth planet
(terrestrial)		1.362 [10] World Ocean salt water surface, global361,300,0003.68 (max 11.02) Oceanus.png commonly divided into five regions
71% of Earth's surface
Caspian Sea salt watersurface, Central Asia 389,0000.21 (max 1.02) Caspian Sea from orbit.jpg Earth's largest inland body of surface liquid, endorheic
(0.07% of Earth's surface)
Lake Michigan–Huron fresh water surface, North America 117,4000.07 (max 0.28) Lake Huron-Michigan (satellite).png largest freshwater lake
Mars planet
(terrestrial)		 ? south polar lakes? (not confirmed)salt water or brine?subglacial, south polar capc. 200(shallow, > 0.2 m) Mars-SubglacialWater-SouthPoleRegion-20180725.jpg there may be additional such lakes [11] [12]
Io moon of Jupiter  ? Gish Bar Patera lavasurface9,600 ? I32 Gish Bar Patera.jpg
Loki Patera lavasurface< 32,000 ? Loki Patera (cropped).jpg
Europa moon of Jupiter 2.6(internal global ocean)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 30,000,000est. 50–100global ocean under 10 to 30 km of ice, perhaps twice the volume of Earth's ocean
Ganymede moon of Jupiter 35.4(internal global ocean)salt water?subsurface, globalc. 80,000,000 apiece100100 km thick, under 150 km of ice, six times the volume of Earth's ocean; [13]
possibly three oceans, one under another
Callisto moon of Jupiter 5.3(internal global ocean)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 65,000,00010global ocean under 135 to 150 km of ice
Enceladus moon of Saturn 0.01(internal global ocean)(salt?) watersubsurface, globalc. 650,00026–31 or 38 ± 4global ocean under 21–26 or 23 ± 4 km of ice, based on libration [14] [15]
Dione moon of Saturn 0.14(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 2,700,00065 ± 30global ocean under 99 ± 23 km of ice [15]
Rhea moon of Saturn  ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 1,000,000–2,000,000c. 15possible global ocean under the ice (c. 400 km) [lower-alpha 1]
Titan moon of Saturn 18.6 Kraken Mare hydrocarbons surface, north polar region≈ 400,000
(0.5% of Titan's surface)		0.85 (max) PIA17655 Kraken Mare crop no labels.jpg largest known body of surface liquid beside Earth's Ocean; the northern Moray Sinus bay is the only part measured bathymetrically [18]
Ligeia Mare predominantly methane, with small amounts of ethane and nitrogen [19] [20] 126,000~0.2 [21] Ligeia Mare in false color (PIA17031).jpg
Punga Mare hydrocarbons surface, north polar region61,000~0.11 [21] Punga Mare crop.jpg
(internal global ocean)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 80,000,000< 300global ocean of water under < 100 km of ice
Titania moon of Uranus  ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 5,000,000c. 15–50possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–200 km)
Oberon moon of Uranus  ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 3,000,000c. 15–40possible global ocean under the ice (c. 250 km)
Triton moon of Neptune 0.03(internal global ocean, )water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 20,000,000c. 150–200likely [22] global ocean under the ice (c. 150–200 km)
Pluto dwarf planet
(plutino)		1(internal global ocean)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 10,000,000–15,000,000c. 100–180possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–230 km)
Makemake dwarf planet
(cubewano)		 ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 3,000,000 ?possible global ocean under the ice
Gonggong dwarf planet
(SDO)		 ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 2,000,000–3,000,000 ?possible global ocean under the ice
Eris dwarf planet
(SDO)		 ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 10,000,000c. 150–200possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–250 km)
Sedna dwarf planet
(sednoid)		 ?(internal global ocean?)water?
water–ammonia mixture?		subsurface, globalc. 1,000,000c. 15possible global ocean under the ice (c. 200 km)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Possible depending on the degree of differentiation of the interior, [16] which is uncertain. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callisto (moon)</span> Second-largest moon of Jupiter

Callisto, or Jupiter IV, is the second-largest moon of Jupiter, after Ganymede. In the Solar System it is the third-largest moon after Ganymede and Saturn's largest moon Titan, and as large as the smallest planet Mercury, though only about a third as massive. Callisto is, with a diameter of 4,821 km, roughly a third larger than Earth's Moon and orbits Jupiter on average at a distance of 1,883,000 km, which is about six times further out than the Moon orbiting Earth. It is the outermost of the four large Galilean moons of Jupiter, which were discovered in 1610 with one of the first telescopes, being visible from Earth with common binoculars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa (moon)</span> Smallest Galilean moon of Jupiter

Europa, or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 95 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. Europa was discovered independently by Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei and was named after Europa, the Phoenician mother of King Minos of Crete and lover of Zeus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn</span> Sixth planet from the Sun

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine-and-a-half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 times more massive. Even though Saturn is nearly the size of Jupiter, Saturn has less than one-third of Jupiter's mass. Saturn orbits the Sun at a distance of 9.59 AU (1,434 million km) with an orbital period of 29.45 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan (moon)</span> Largest moon of Saturn and second-largest moon in Solar System

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest in the Solar System. It is the only moon known to have an atmosphere denser than the Earth's, and is the only known object in space other than Earth on which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Titan is one of the seven gravitationally rounded moons of Saturn and the second-most distant among them. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, Titan is 50% larger than Earth's Moon and 80% more massive. It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System after Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and is larger than Mercury, but only 40% as massive due to Mercury being made of mostly dense iron and rock, while a large portion of Titan is made of less-dense ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganymede (moon)</span> Largest moon of Jupiter and in the Solar System

Ganymede, or Jupiter III, is the largest and most massive natural satellite of Jupiter and in the Solar System. It is the largest Solar System object without a substantial atmosphere, despite being the only moon in the Solar System with a substantial magnetic field. Like Titan, Saturn's largest moon, it is larger than the planet Mercury, but has somewhat less surface gravity than Mercury, Io, or the Moon due to its lower density compared to the three.

Icy moons are a class of natural satellites with surfaces composed mostly of ice. An icy moon may harbor an ocean underneath the surface, and possibly include a rocky core of silicate or metallic rocks. It is thought that they may be composed of ice II or other polymorph of water ice. The prime example of this class of object is Europa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dione (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Dione, also designated Saturn IV, is the fourth-largest moon of Saturn. With a mean diameter of 1,123 km and a density of about 1.48 g/cm3, Dione is composed of an icy mantle and crust overlying a silicate rocky core, with rock and water ice roughly equal in mass. Its trailing hemisphere is marked by large cliffs and scarps called chasmata; the trailing hemisphere is also significantly darker compared to the leading hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enceladus</span> Natural satellite orbiting Saturn

Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn and the 19th-largest in the Solar System. It is about 500 kilometers in diameter, about a tenth of that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. It is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most reflective bodies of the Solar System. Consequently, its surface temperature at noon reaches only −198 °C, far colder than a light-absorbing body would be. Despite its small size, Enceladus has a wide variety of surface features, ranging from old, heavily cratered regions to young, tectonically deformed terrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moons of Saturn</span> Natural satellites of the planet Saturn

The moons of Saturn are numerous and diverse, ranging from tiny moonlets only tens of meters across to the enormous Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury. There are 146 moons with confirmed orbits, the most of any planet in the solar system. This number does not include the many thousands of moonlets embedded within Saturn's dense rings, nor hundreds of possible kilometer-sized distant moons that were seen through telescopes but not recaptured. Seven Saturnian moons are large enough to have collapsed into a relaxed, ellipsoidal shape, though only one or two of those, Titan and possibly Rhea, are currently in hydrostatic equilibrium. Three moons are particularly notable. Titan is the second-largest moon in the Solar System, with a nitrogen-rich Earth-like atmosphere and a landscape featuring river networks and hydrocarbon lakes. Enceladus emits jets of ice from its south-polar region and is covered in a deep layer of snow. Iapetus has contrasting black and white hemispheres as well as an extensive ridge of equatorial mountains among the tallest in the solar system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cryovolcano</span> Type of volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock

A cryovolcano is a type of volcano that erupts gases and volatile material such as liquid water, ammonia, and hydrocarbons. The erupted material is collectively referred to as cryolava; it originates from a reservoir of subsurface cryomagma. Cryovolcanic eruptions can take many forms, such as fissure and curtain eruptions, effusive cryolava flows, and large-scale resurfacing, and can vary greatly in output volumes. Immediately after an eruption, cryolava quickly freezes, constructing geological features and altering the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean world</span> Planet containing a significant amount of water or other liquid

An ocean world, ocean planet or water world is a type of planet that contains a substantial amount of water in the form of oceans, as part of its hydrosphere, either beneath the surface, as subsurface oceans, or on the surface, potentially submerging all dry land. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid or thalassogen, such as lava, ammonia or hydrocarbons. The study of extraterrestrial oceans is referred to as planetary oceanography.

Extraterrestrial liquid water is water in its liquid state that naturally occurs outside Earth. It is a subject of wide interest because it is recognized as one of the key prerequisites for life as we know it and is thus surmised to be essential for extraterrestrial life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitability of natural satellites</span> Measure of the potential of natural satellites to have environments hospitable to life

The habitability of natural satellites is the potential of moons to provide habitats for life, though it is not an indicator that they harbor it. Natural satellites are expected to outnumber planets by a large margin and the study of their habitability is therefore important to astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life. There are, nevertheless, significant environmental variables specific to moons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regular moon</span> Satellites that formed around their parent planet

In astronomy, a regular moon or a regular satellite is a natural satellite following a relatively close, stable, and circular orbit which is generally aligned to its primary's equator. They form within discs of debris and gas that once surrounded their primary, usually the aftermath of a large collision or leftover material accumulated from the protoplanetary disc. Young regular moons then begin to accumulate material within the circumplanetary disc in a process similar to planetary accretion, as opposed to irregular moons, which formed independently before being captured into orbit around the primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary-mass moon</span> Planetary-mass bodies that are also natural satellites

A planetary-mass moon is a planetary-mass object that is also a natural satellite. They are large and ellipsoidal in shape. Moons may be in hydrostatic equilibrium due to tidal or radiogenic heating, in some cases forming a subsurface ocean. Two moons in the Solar System are larger than the planet Mercury : Ganymede and Titan, and seven are larger and more massive than the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice planet</span> Planet with an icy surface

An ice planet or icy planet is a type of planet with an icy surface of volatiles such as water, ammonia, and methane. Ice planets consist of a global cryosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary surface</span> Where the material of a planetary masss outer crust contacts its atmosphere or outer space

A planetary surface is where the solid or liquid material of certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space. Planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass, including terrestrial planets, dwarf planets, natural satellites, planetesimals and many other small Solar System bodies (SSSBs). The study of planetary surfaces is a field of planetary geology known as surface geology, but also a focus on a number of fields including planetary cartography, topography, geomorphology, atmospheric sciences, and astronomy. Land is the term given to non-liquid planetary surfaces. The term landing is used to describe the collision of an object with a planetary surface and is usually at a velocity in which the object can remain intact and remain attached.

Planetary oceanography, also called astro-oceanography or exo-oceanography, is the study of oceans on planets and moons other than Earth. Unlike other planetary sciences like astrobiology, astrochemistry, and planetary geology, it only began after the discovery of underground oceans in Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's moon Europa. This field remains speculative until further missions reach the oceans beneath the rock or ice layer of the moons. There are many theories about oceans or even ocean worlds of celestial bodies in the Solar System, from oceans made of diamond in Neptune to a gigantic ocean of liquid hydrogen that may exist underneath Jupiter's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Worlds Exploration Program</span> NASA program for the exploration of water worlds in the Solar System

The Ocean Worlds Exploration Program (OWEP) is a NASA program to explore ocean worlds in the outer Solar System that could possess subsurface oceans to assess their habitability and to seek biosignatures of simple extraterrestrial life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary habitability in the Solar System</span> Habitability of the celestial bodies of the Solar System

Planetary habitability in the Solar System is the study that searches the possible existence of past or present extraterrestrial life in those celestial bodies. As exoplanets are too far away and can only be studied by indirect means, the celestial bodies in the Solar System allow for a much more detailed study: direct telescope observation, space probes, rovers and even human spaceflight.

References

  1. ↑ "Titan: Facts". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  2. 1 2 Walsh, Don (March 2019). "The Other Oceans in the Solar System". Proceedings. 145/3/1, 393.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ocean Worlds". Ocean Worlds. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  4. ↑ "NASA's Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa - NASA". 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  5. ↑ Clavin, W. (2014-05-01). "Ganymede May Harbor 'Club Sandwich' of Oceans and Ice". Press release. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  6. ↑ Vance, S.; Bouffard, M.; Choukroun, M.; Sotin, C. (2014-04-12). "Ganymede's internal structure including thermodynamics of magnesium sulfate oceans in contact with ice". Planetary and Space Science. 96: 62–70. Bibcode:2014P&SS...96...62V. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.011.
  7. ↑ Shekhtman, Lonnie; et al. (18 June 2020). "Are Planets with Oceans Common in the Galaxy? It's Likely, NASA Scientists Find". NASA . Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  8. ↑ Quick, L.C.; Roberge, A.; Mlinar, A.B.; Hedman, M.M. (2020). "Forecasting Rates of Volcanic Activity on Terrestrial Exoplanets and Implications for Cryovolcanic Activity on Extrasolar Ocean Worlds". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 132 (1014): 084402. Bibcode:2020PASP..132h4402Q. doi: 10.1088/1538-3873/ab9504 . S2CID   219964895.
  9. ↑ "Earth Doesn't Actually Have The Most Water in The Solar System". ScienceAlert. 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  10. ↑ "How Much Water is There on Earth?". USGS. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ↑ Orosei, R.; Lauro, S. E.; Pettinelli, E.; Cicchetti, A.; Coradini, M.; Cosciotti, B.; Paolo, F. Di; Flamini, E.; Mattei, E.; Pajola, M.; Soldovieri, F. (2018-08-03). "Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars". Science. 361 (6401): 490–493. arXiv: 2004.04587 . Bibcode:2018Sci...361..490O. doi: 10.1126/science.aar7268 . ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   30045881.
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  13. ↑ "Hubble observations suggest underground ocean on Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede". NASA press release. March 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  14. ↑ Thomas, P. C.; Tajeddine, R.; Tiscareno, M. S.; Burns, J. A.; Joseph, J.; Loredo, T. J.; Helfenstein, P.; Porco, C. (2016). "Enceladus's measured physical libration requires a global subsurface ocean". Icarus. 264: 37–47. arXiv: 1509.07555 . Bibcode:2016Icar..264...37T. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.037. S2CID   118429372.
  15. 1 2 Beuthe, Mikael; Rivoldini, Attilio; Trinh, Antony (2016). "Enceladus's and Dione's floating ice shells supported by minimum stress isostasy". Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (19): 10, 088–10, 096. arXiv: 1610.00548 . Bibcode:2016GeoRL..4310088B. doi:10.1002/2016GL070650. S2CID   119236092.
  16. ↑ Hussmann, H.; Sohl, F.; Spohn, T. (November 2006). "Subsurface oceans and deep interiors of medium-sized outer planet satellites and large trans-Neptunian objects". Icarus. 185 (1): 258–273. Bibcode:2006Icar..185..258H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.005.
  17. ↑ Tortora, P.; Zannoni, M.; Hemingway, D.; Nimmo, F.; Jacobson, R. A.; Iess, L.; Parisi, M. (January 2016). "Rhea gravity field and interior modeling from Cassini data analysis". Icarus. 264: 264–273. Bibcode:2016Icar..264..264T. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.09.022. hdl: 11585/581818 .
  18. ↑ Poggiali, V.; Hayes, A.; Mastrogiuseppe, M.; Le Gall, A. A. (2019-12-01). "The Bathymetry of Moray Sinus at Kraken Mare". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 23. Bibcode:2019AGUFM.P23D3540P.
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  22. ↑ Schenk, Paul; Beddingfield, Chloe; Bertrand, Tanguy; et al. (September 2021). "Triton: Topography and Geology of a Probable Ocean World with Comparison to Pluto and Charon". Remote Sensing. 13 (17): 3476. Bibcode:2021RemS...13.3476S. doi: 10.3390/rs13173476 .
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