The chemistry of habitable oceans in the Solar system
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.
Authors
- Pengcheng Ju (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7277-0563)
- Nicholas J. Tosca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4415-4231)
- Andrew H. Knoll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1308-8585)
- David C. Catling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5646-120X)
- Li Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8548-1928)
- Yuke Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9198-2227)
- Fang Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1885-3311)
- Christopher R. Glein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2161-4672)
- Eva E. Stüeken (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6861-2490)
- Maggie C. Y. Lau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-9749)
- Peter W. Crockford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0770-6482)
- Lu Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8151-2125)
- Jihua Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3657-050X)
- Yafang Song
- Chao He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6694-0965)
- J.U. Mondal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0829-220X)
- Anya Huo
- Jie Li
Institutions
- Anhui Jianzhu University (CN)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Southwest Research Institute (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Polar Research Institute of China (CN)
- University of St Andrews (GB)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (CN)
- Earth and Space Research (US)
- Carleton University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74955-4
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China