Researchers Study Earthly Geysers to Understand Icy Ocean Moons

Analyzing water from Utah's cold CO2 geysers provides insights into the subsurface oceans of Enceladus and Europa.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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Researchers studied water samples from two cold CO2 geysers in Green River, Utah, to better understand the subsurface oceans of Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa. The geysers are natural analogues for the plumes observed on these icy ocean moons, which could provide a window into their potentially habitable subsurface environments. The study found differences in the chemical composition of erupted versus unerupted geyser samples, highlighting the challenges in interpreting plume data from future spacecraft missions to these ocean worlds.

Why it matters

The frozen ocean moons of Enceladus and Europa are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life, but directly sampling their subsurface oceans is extremely challenging. Studying natural geyser analogues on Earth can provide important insights into how the composition of these subsurface oceans may be modified as material is transported to the surface and ejected into space, informing future mission planning and data interpretation.

The details

The researchers collected water samples from two geysers in Utah's Jurassic Navajo Sandstone aquifer - the large Crystal geyser and the smaller Champagne geyser. They analyzed the chemical composition of the erupted samples and compared them to unerupted samples, as well as to evaporated deposits from previous eruptions. The results showed differences in the levels of cations, anions, and other dissolved minerals between the erupted and unerupted samples, indicating that the geysers are ejecting material from deep within the aquifer that has been modified during the eruption process. Geochemical modeling revealed that the subsurface waters are extremely rich in CO2, which drives the geyser eruptions.

  • The researchers collected samples from the Crystal and Champagne geysers in 2025.

The players

Morgan Cable

Lead author of the study and Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.

Crystal geyser

The largest cold CO2 geyser in the Green River, Utah area and one of the largest on Earth.

Champagne geyser

A smaller cold CO2 geyser located near the Crystal geyser in the Green River, Utah area.

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What they’re saying

“While there's no perfect Earth-based analog for the plumes on other worlds, this study did provide important constraints and lessons learned about the abundance and detectability of habitability indicators.”

— Morgan Cable (Press release)

“If we extrapolate these findings to ocean worlds, missions should consider targeting large vents or areas of output to ensure access to materials from depth. And, if possible, analysis of material from multiple sources of varied flux might provide a 'depth profile' of the host underground reservoir.”

— Morgan Cable (Press release)

“This means that future research will benefit from combining measurements of plume ejecta by spacecraft, Earth-based telescope observations and geochemical computer models to fully characterize plume deposits and make robust inferences of ocean composition.”

— Morgan Cable (Press release)

What’s next

The researchers plan to publish additional findings from the biological analysis of the geyser samples in a separate paper.

The takeaway

By studying natural geyser analogues on Earth, researchers can gain important insights into how the composition of subsurface oceans on icy moons like Enceladus and Europa may be modified as material is transported to the surface and ejected into space. This knowledge will help inform the planning and interpretation of future spacecraft missions to these potentially habitable ocean worlds.