Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

States of Water01:23

States of Water

50.9K
Water exists in any one of the three classical states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam or water vapor). The state of water depends on i) the intermolecular forces that draw molecules together and ii) the kinetic energy that leads to movements that pull them apart.
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
50.9K
Entropy and Solvation02:05

Entropy and Solvation

7.1K
The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ...
7.1K
The Water Cycle01:00

The Water Cycle

24.5K
The Earth’s hydrosphere includes all of the areas where the storage and movement of water occurs. Since water is the basis of all living processes, the cycling of water is extremely important to ecosystem dynamics.
24.5K
Diversity of Archaea I01:30

Diversity of Archaea I

34
Archaea, a domain of single-celled microorganisms, are classified into five major phyla based on genetic and biochemical characteristics: Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, Thaumarchaeota, Korarchaeota, and Nanoarchaeota. Among these, the phylum Euryarchaeota is notable for its remarkable diversity in morphology, metabolism, and ecological adaptations.Morphological and Metabolic DiversityMembers of Euryarchaeota exhibit a variety of cellular shapes, including rods and cocci. Their metabolic pathways...
34
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?00:54

What are Biogeochemical Cycles?

32.7K
The most common elements in organic molecules, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, are only available in the ecosystem in limited amounts. Therefore, these nutrients must be recycled through both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, in processes generally called biogeochemical cycles.
32.7K
Diversity of Archaea III01:27

Diversity of Archaea III

32
Crenarchaeota, a prominent phylum of Archaea, is remarkable for its ability to thrive in extreme environments characterized by high temperatures and acidity. These microorganisms inhabit sulfuric hot springs, volcanic systems, and submarine hydrothermal vents, where temperatures often exceed 100°C. The unique adaptations of Crenarchaeota not only allow survival under such extreme conditions but also provide insights into the mechanisms of life in primordial Earth-like...
32

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

How to understand exoplanets - space scientists call on lab-based chemists to help.

Nature·2025
Same author

Exploring the sub-Neptune frontier with JWST.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b.

Nature astronomy·2024
Same author

Hydrogen sulfide and metal-enriched atmosphere for a Jupiter-mass exoplanet.

Nature·2024
Same author

Sulfur dioxide in the mid-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-39b.

Nature·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 20, 2025

Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems
12:55

Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems

Published on: November 18, 2015

14.5K

Chemical conditions on Hycean worlds.

Nikku Madhusudhan1, Julianne I Moses2, Frances Rigby1

  • 1Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. nmadhu@ast.cam.ac.uk.

Faraday Discussions
|August 2, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Hycean worlds, with their vast oceans and hydrogen-rich atmospheres, offer new possibilities for finding extraterrestrial life. This study explores their atmospheric chemistry and essential elements for life, suggesting they are promising targets for telescopes like JWST.

More Related Videos

Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment
06:29

Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment

Published on: February 27, 2021

3.6K
Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
10:43

Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology

Published on: November 5, 2014

25.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 20, 2025

Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems
12:55

Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems

Published on: November 18, 2015

14.5K
Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment
06:29

Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment

Published on: February 27, 2021

3.6K
Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
10:43

Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology

Published on: November 5, 2014

25.7K

Area of Science:

  • Astrobiology
  • Exoplanetary Science
  • Planetary Chemistry

Background:

  • Traditional exoplanet research focused on rocky planets.
  • Hycean worlds, sub-Neptunes with global oceans and H2-rich atmospheres, are a new class of potentially habitable exoplanets.
  • Over a dozen candidate Hycean planets are known to transit nearby M dwarfs, making them prime targets for JWST observations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the atmospheric molecular composition and bioessential element inventory of a canonical Hycean world.
  • Explore the chemical evolution and observable present-day atmospheric conditions.
  • Assess the potential for prebiotic chemistry and the delivery of essential elements to the ocean.

Main Methods:

  • Photochemical and kinetic modeling of atmospheric conditions.
  • Analysis of atmospheric evolution under reduced primordial conditions.
  • Modeling of bioessential metal delivery mechanisms to the ocean, considering geological factors.
  • Estimation of bioessential metal requirements based on ocean depth and early Earth ocean data.

Main Results:

  • Reduced primordial conditions can lead to an early atmosphere rich in organic molecules, serving as feedstock for prebiotic chemistry.
  • Bioessential metal requirements for life can be met through plausible impact histories, atmospheric sedimentation, and other steady-state sources.
  • Hycean worlds present a promising new paradigm for exoplanet exploration and the search for life.

Conclusions:

  • Hycean worlds significantly expand the scope of exoplanet habitability studies.
  • Their atmospheric and oceanic chemistry are conducive to the origin and sustenance of life.
  • JWST and future observatories can characterize Hycean worlds, advancing the search for extraterrestrial life.