<p>Suppose we drilled a 1 ft (30 cm) diameter hole through Europa's ice crust. As Europa doesn't have an atmosphere, the water would obviously either sublime (turn to vapor) or instantly freeze once a hole is drilled through, but how exactly would that be going on?</p>
<p>In the case of sublimation, the ocean won't sublime all at once, right? How fast would the sublimation be going on, how large of a volume of water would turn to vapor in a realistic time frame, or so?</p>
<p>In case of freezing, what would it look like if it froze instantly? Even before it froze, it would have to be liquid while exposed to the vacuum of space once the hole is drilled, which in turn would be impossible, or wouldn't it?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T16:58:29.180Z
[Does Jupiter’s moon Europa have geysers? If so, what’s their source?](https://earthsky.org/space/jupiter-moon-europa-plumes-salty-water-in-crust)
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:03:01.207Z
recommended: [Have there been any determinations of the water pressure in Europa's ocean just below the ice?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/18363/12102) and [this answer to *A certain way to blow up Europa, what is wrong with this suggestion?*](https://space.stackexchange.com/a/25215/1210) and [**ice fishing hole**](https://i.sstatic.net/0TDkw.jpg) and [How can “Geysers” on Europa reach heights of 100km?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/18496/7982) and [Enceladus; why use the words “geysers”, “jets”, and “plumes” interchangeably?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/19939/7982)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:24:28.043Z
Some models of "geysers" involve evaporating *locally trapped/melted* water that passes through a nozzle-like narrowing and then escapes to space in a directed "jet", condensing into droplets along the way (roughly speaking). But you're asking about the "ice fishing hole" situation with a flat surface of water that's risen to some height below the ice surface inside a cylindrical hole drilled from surface down to ocean. If the ice is 1 km thick then the water's surface will be about 80 meters below the top of the ice and at one end of a 30 cm diameter "pipe" with space at the other end.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:24:38.507Z
In the same way that a floating iceberg has 92% volume below the water's surface, the water in this drilled hole will rise up only 92% of the distance to its top. *hydrostatic equilibrium* and ice being lower density than water means that what happens in the tall column of water vapor has to be modeled. It may redeposit on the sides and slowly close itself off, or something else. *This is a great gedankenexperiment question!* I think an analogy to a 30 cm wide but very long crack (which is more realistic as cracks happen regularly) will be a helpful analogy.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-20T04:41:22.273Z
@uhoh Or one may also ask what happens to the water if astronauts dig with pickaxes through the ice crust until they reach the ocean. They break the last ice between them and the water with the pickaxe, and the water would then be exposed to the vacuum of space. It seems it would begin to evaporate instantly while its surface would rise to the level at which ~92% of the volume remain underwater, but the water itself sublimes. I wonder what that would look like. Also, would the astronauts who digged through drown or would all of that happen more slowly?
Giovanni
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-20T18:01:11.900Z
Teh drilling mechanism would pug up the hole until it was removed.  Since the ice lawyer is many miles thick the lower parts of it are under great pressure.  Thus the lower ice leves should flow and plub up the lower part of the drill hole as the drill is being pulled up.
M. A. Golding
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-23T01:55:07.157Z
@M.A.Golding That's a good point, the ice near the bottom will be near 0 C and so more easily deformed.
uhoh
<water><astrochemistry><europa>
What happens to Europa's (or another ice moon's) water if we drilled a hole through the ice crust down to the ocean?
Giovanni
# What happens to Europa's (or another ice moon's) water if we drilled a hole through the ice crust down to the ocean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-19)

Suppose we drilled a 1 ft (30 cm) diameter hole through Europa's ice crust. As Europa doesn't have an atmosphere, the water would obviously either sublime (turn to vapor) or instantly freeze once a hole is drilled through, but how exactly would that be going on?

In the case of sublimation, the ocean won't sublime all at once, right? How fast would the sublimation be going on, how large of a volume of water would turn to vapor in a realistic time frame, or so?

In case of freezing, what would it look like if it froze instantly? Even before it froze, it would have to be liquid while exposed to the vacuum of space once the hole is drilled, which in turn would be impossible, or wouldn't it?

**Tags:** water, astrochemistry, europa

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: [Does Jupiter’s moon Europa have geysers? If so, what’s their source?](https://earthsky.org/space/jupiter-moon-europa-plumes-salty-water-in-crust)  
> **username_2**: recommended: [Have there been any determinations of the water pressure in Europa's ocean just below the ice?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/18363/12102) and [this answer to *A certain way to blow up Europa, what is wrong with this suggestion?*](https://space.stackexchange.com/a/25215/1210) and [**ice fishing hole**](https://i.sstatic.net/0TDkw.jpg) and [How can “Geysers” on Europa reach heights of 100km?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/18496/7982) and [Enceladus; why use the words “geysers”, “jets”, and “plumes” interchangeably?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/19939/7982)  
> **username_2**: Some models of "geysers" involve evaporating *locally trapped/melted* water that passes through a nozzle-like narrowing and then escapes to space in a directed "jet", condensing into droplets along the way (roughly speaking). But you're asking about the "ice fishing hole" situation with a flat surface of water that's risen to some height below the ice surface inside a cylindrical hole drilled from surface down to ocean. If the ice is 1 km thick then the water's surface will be about 80 meters below the top of the ice and at one end of a 30 cm diameter "pipe" with space at the other end.  
> **username_2**: In the same way that a floating iceberg has 92% volume below the water's surface, the water in this drilled hole will rise up only 92% of the distance to its top. *hydrostatic equilibrium* and ice being lower density than water means that what happens in the tall column of water vapor has to be modeled. It may redeposit on the sides and slowly close itself off, or something else. *This is a great gedankenexperiment question!* I think an analogy to a 30 cm wide but very long crack (which is more realistic as cracks happen regularly) will be a helpful analogy.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Or one may also ask what happens to the water if astronauts dig with pickaxes through the ice crust until they reach the ocean. They break the last ice between them and the water with the pickaxe, and the water would then be exposed to the vacuum of space. It seems it would begin to evaporate instantly while its surface would rise to the level at which ~92% of the volume remain underwater, but the water itself sublimes. I wonder what that would look like. Also, would the astronauts who digged through drown or would all of that happen more slowly?  
> **username_3**: Teh drilling mechanism would pug up the hole until it was removed.  Since the ice lawyer is many miles thick the lower parts of it are under great pressure.  Thus the lower ice leves should flow and plub up the lower part of the drill hole as the drill is being pulled up.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 That's a good point, the ice near the bottom will be near 0 C and so more easily deformed.  

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