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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Sea Ice as an Origin of Life Location for Hycean and Ocean Worlds

  • Edouard F L Barrier1
  • Nikku Madhusudhan1
  • Frances E Rigby1,2
  1. 1Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA ,
  2. 2Imperial College London Imperial Astrophysics, Department of Physics, , Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ ,
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Abstract

Water worlds with potential deep oceans are at the forefront of currently observable exoplanetary habitability. The standard requirements for habitability are the presence of an energy source, a source of nutrients, and a solvent, all of which can be met in exoplanets with deep liquid water oceans. Such planets may be numerous, ranging from hycean worlds and ocean worlds to terrestrial-size planets with enhanced water content. However, abiogenesis requires additional conditions, namely a mechanism to accumulate nutrients to the high concentrations required for prebiotic chemistry, and an energy source to drive the chemistry. A deep ocean, and in some cases the high-pressure ice layers underneath, has traditionally been thought to prevent the required concentrations. Here we outline a location where nutrients could be concentrated in sufficiently high quantities to make abiogenesis possible – at the interface between the open ocean and the surface ice shelf. Using a 3D General Circulation Model, we explore cases corresponding to several candidate habitable exoplanets which might have dayside sea ice. We discuss how the planet’s climate influences the nature and behaviour of the sea ice. We investigate the ability of small-scale ice formation and melting processes to concentrate nutrients to prebiotically useful levels, and also explore the potential for meteoritic impactor fragments to provide a platform for prebiotic chemistry. We find that both of these mechanisms may plausibly provide concentrated chemical feedstock for prebiotic chemistry, which adds an important new perspective when evaluating the prospects of habitability in planets with deep oceans.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{barrier2026origin,
  title = {{Sea Ice as an Origin of Life Location for Hycean and Ocean Worlds}},
  author = {Edouard F L Barrier and Nikku Madhusudhan and Frances E Rigby},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag1974},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1974/8994298},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Sea Ice as an Origin of Life Location for Hycean and Ocean Worlds
AU  - Edouard F L Barrier
AU  - Nikku Madhusudhan
AU  - Frances E Rigby
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO  - 10.1093/mnras/stag1974
UR  - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1974/8994298
AB  - Water worlds with potential deep oceans are at the forefront of currently observable exoplanetary habitability. The standard requirements for habitability are the presence of an energy source, a source of nutrients, and a solvent, all of which can be met in exoplanets with deep liquid water oceans. Such planets may be numerous, ranging from hycean worlds and ocean worlds to terrestrial-size planets with enhanced water content. However, abiogenesis requires additional conditions, namely a mechanism to accumulate nutrients to the high concentrations required for prebiotic chemistry, and an energy source to drive the chemistry. A deep ocean, and in some cases the high-pressure ice layers underneath, has traditionally been thought to prevent the required concentrations. Here we outline a location where nutrients could be concentrated in sufficiently high quantities to make abiogenesis possible – at the interface between the open ocean and the surface ice shelf. Using a 3D General Circulation Model, we explore cases corresponding to several candidate habitable exoplanets which might have dayside sea ice. We discuss how the planet’s climate influences the nature and behaviour of the sea ice. We investigate the ability of small-scale ice formation and melting processes to concentrate nutrients to prebiotically useful levels, and also explore the potential for meteoritic impactor fragments to provide a platform for prebiotic chemistry. We find that both of these mechanisms may plausibly provide concentrated chemical feedstock for prebiotic chemistry, which adds an important new perspective when evaluating the prospects of habitability in planets with deep oceans.
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
ER  -