(July 22, 2014 at 4:06 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote:(July 22, 2014 at 3:12 pm)StealthySkeptic Wrote: As said earlier, there are certainly extremophiles who thrive in environments that are inhospitable. Heck, we know there's a giant ocean underneath the ice of Europa, which gets warmed and melts every so often to keep the ocean from freezing over due to the gravitation pull of Jupiter that literally warps the surface. If I had to guess, then perhaps tube worms of the type found on the Earth's ocean floor could be there.
My point was in regards to complex life. let me ask is there plate tectonics on europa? If there isnt whatever life was there is probably dead now.
Tube worms are complex life. They are perhaps 90% of the way to humans on any scale with bacteria on one side and humans on the other.
The rocky parts of Europa is also tidally heated by gravity of Jupiter and the other three big Jovial moons just like its ocean, or like Io. So it is probably geologically active underneath the ocean. We don't know if there is plate tectonics, but we can imagine other forms of active geological activity, such as hot spot volcanism with extensive underwater equivalent of fumerals, which could drive hydrothermal cycles to support tube worm like creatures.
