Premium
Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous NaCl at High Pressure and Low Temperature: Application to Deep Subsurface Oceans of Icy Moons
Author(s) -
Pan Yilong,
Yong Wenjun,
Secco Richard A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2021gl094020
Subject(s) - molality , electrical resistivity and conductivity , icy moon , conductivity , aqueous solution , conductance , limiting , atmospheric temperature range , analytical chemistry (journal) , geology , mineralogy , materials science , chemistry , thermodynamics , environmental chemistry , physics , condensed matter physics , saturn , mechanical engineering , quantum mechanics , planet , astrophysics , engineering
Sodium chloride (NaCl) may be an antifreeze in subsurface oceans of icy moons, so its electrical conductivity provides information on properties and processes complementing models of internal structure. We conducted experimental measurements of electrical conductivity of aqueous NaCl (NaCl(aq)) at 212–1,713 MPa and 233–295 K in a multianvil press, simulating high‐pressure and low‐temperature (HPLT) conditions of the subsurface oceans of icy moons such as Titan and Ganymede. A numerical model is proposed withlog σ = − 2.486 + 902.605 / T + 1.765 log ( c ∗ ρ 0 / ( 1 + 0.05844 c ∗ ) ) + 1.557 log ρ + 2 logΛ 0 − log ( 10 Λ 0 + 5584.2 ( c ∗ ρ 0 / ( 1 + 0.05844 c ∗ ) ) 1 / 2 ) , where σ is the conductivity (S/m), T the temperature (K), c* the NaCl(aq) molality (mol/kg), ρ the water density (g/cm 3 ), ρ 0 the NaCl(aq) density at standard condition (g/cm 3 ), Λ 0 is the limiting equivalent conductance (S cm 2 equiv −1 ). We used this to generate conductivity distributions over a wide range of HPLT and at different concentrations. Significantly high electrical conductivity and large temperature sensitivity allow our data to provide useful experimental reference for future flyby observations.