List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System

Listed below are the largest ocean, lakes and seas in the Solar System and beyond includes single bodies of water or other liquid on or near the surface of a solid round body (terrestrial planet, planetoid, or moon).

Currently, cold surface bodies of liquid are found on two worlds in the Solar System, Earth and Saturn's moon Titan.[1] Earth is the only planet with liquid water on its surface. The other "oceans" are found under thick covers of surface ice. If both liquid and frozen water are counted, Earth ranks fifth in volume of its oceans.[2] Recent studies indicate a large underground saltwater ocean present on Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, with estimated water volume eight times greater than Earth’s world ocean.[3]

The fourth largest of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, while smaller than Earth’s moon, ranks fourth in water volume, estimated to be twice more than on Earth.[2] Latest analysis using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope indicates that the carbon dioxide found on the icy surface of Europa likely originated in the subsurface ocean which could potentially be habitable.[4]

Scientists predict "oceans" beneath the ice of the Jupiter's moon Callisto cratered surface and the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Saturn's moon Titan is also thought to have a salty subsurface ocean of water - as salty as the Dead Sea on Earth.[3] Additionally, research suggests that Saturn's moon Mimas might be hiding a liquid water ocean beneath its impact-battered surface. A subsurface ocean at Neptune's moon Triton is considered possible as well. Mysterious fault lines on dwarf planet Pluto may suggest that it has a hidden subsurface ocean.[3]

Lava lakes are found on Earth and Jupiter's moon Io. Subsurface oceans or seas are suspected to exist on some of Saturn's other moons, the asteroid Ceres, the larger trans-Neptunian objects, and ice planets in planetary systems.

Recent analysis of the interior of Ganymede suggests that it and some of the other icy bodies may not have a single interior global ocean but several stacked ones, separated by different phases of ice, with the lowest liquid layer adjacent to the rocky mantle below.[5][6]

In June 2020, NASA scientists reported that it is likely that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies of their internal heating rates. The majority of such worlds would probably have subsurface oceans, similar to those of the icy moons Europa and Enceladus.[7][8]

List

Largest known or predicted oceans, lakes and seas, with composition and dimensions, grouped by celestial body and sortable by size, depth, etc.
Body Type of object Liquid volume in zettaliters[9] Ocean/Lake/Sea Composition Location Area (km2) Average depth (km) Image Notes
Earth planet
(terrestrial) 		1.362[10] World Ocean salt water surface, global 361,300,000 3.68 (max 11.02) commonly divided into five regions
71% of Earth's surface
Caspian Sea salt water surface, Central Asia 389,000 0.21 (max 1.02) Earth's largest inland body of surface liquid, endorheic
(0.07% of Earth's surface)
Lake Michigan–Huron fresh water surface, North America 117,400 0.07 (max 0.28) largest freshwater lake
Mars planet
(terrestrial) 		? south polar lakes? (not confirmed) salt water or brine? subglacial, south polar cap c. 200 (shallow, > 0.2 m) there may be additional such lakes[11][12]
Io moon of Jupiter ? Gish Bar Patera lava surface 9,600 ?
Loki Patera lava surface < 32,000 ?
Europa moon of Jupiter 2.6 (internal global ocean) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 30,000,000 est. 50–100 global ocean under 10 to 30 km of ice, perhaps twice the volume of Earth's ocean
Ganymede moon of Jupiter 35.4 (internal global ocean) salt water? subsurface, global c. 80,000,000 apiece 100 100 km thick, under 150 km of ice, six times the volume of Earth's ocean;[13]
possibly three oceans, one under another
Callisto moon of Jupiter 5.3 (internal global ocean) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 65,000,000 10 global ocean under 135 to 150 km of ice
Enceladus moon of Saturn 0.01 (internal global ocean) (salt?) water subsurface, global c. 650,000 26–31 or 38 ± 4 global ocean under 21–26 or 23 ± 4 km of ice, based on libration[14][15]
Dione moon of Saturn 0.14 (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 2,700,000 65 ± 30 global ocean under 99 ± 23 km of ice[15]
Rhea moon of Saturn ? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 1,000,000–2,000,000 c. 15 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 400 km)[a]
Titan moon of Saturn 18.6 Kraken Mare hydrocarbons surface, north polar region ≈ 400,000
(0.5% of Titan's surface) 		0.85 (max) largest known body of surface liquid beside Earth's Ocean; the northern Moray Sinus bay is the only part measured bathymetrically [18]
Ligeia Mare predominantly methane, with small amounts of ethane and nitrogen[19][20] 126,000 ~0.2[21]
Punga Mare hydrocarbons surface, north polar region 61,000 ~0.11[21]
(internal global ocean) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 80,000,000 < 300 global ocean of water under < 100 km of ice
Titania moon of Uranus ? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 5,000,000 c. 15–50 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–200 km)
Oberon moon of Uranus ? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 3,000,000 c. 15–40 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 250 km)
Triton moon of Neptune 0.03 (internal global ocean, ) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 20,000,000 c. 150–200 likely[22] global ocean under the ice (c. 150–200 km)
Pluto dwarf planet
(plutino) 		1 (internal global ocean) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 10,000,000–15,000,000 c. 100–180 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–230 km)
Makemake dwarf planet
(cubewano) 		? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 3,000,000 ? possible global ocean under the ice
Gonggong dwarf planet
(SDO) 		? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 2,000,000–3,000,000 ? possible global ocean under the ice
Eris dwarf planet
(SDO) 		? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 10,000,000 c. 150–200 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 150–250 km)
Sedna dwarf planet
(sednoid) 		? (internal global ocean?) water?
water–ammonia mixture? 		subsurface, global c. 1,000,000 c. 15 possible global ocean under the ice (c. 200 km)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Possible depending on the degree of differentiation of the interior,[16] which is uncertain.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Titan: Facts". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  2. ^ a b Walsh, Don (March 2019). "The Other Oceans in the Solar System". Proceedings. 145/3/1, 393.
  3. ^ a b c "Ocean Worlds". Ocean Worlds. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  4. ^ "NASA's Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa - NASA". 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  5. ^ Clavin, W. (2014-05-01). "Ganymede May Harbor 'Club Sandwich' of Oceans and Ice". Press release. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  6. ^ Vance, S.; Bouffard, M.; Choukroun, M.; Sotin, C. (2014-04-12). "Ganymede's internal structure including thermodynamics of magnesium sulfate oceans in contact with ice". Planetary and Space Science. 96: 62–70. Bibcode:2014P&SS...96...62V. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.011.
  7. ^ Shekhtman, Lonnie; et al. (18 June 2020). "Are Planets with Oceans Common in the Galaxy? It's Likely, NASA Scientists Find". NASA. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  8. ^ Quick, L.C.; Roberge, A.; Mlinar, A.B.; Hedman, M.M. (2020). "Forecasting Rates of Volcanic Activity on Terrestrial Exoplanets and Implications for Cryovolcanic Activity on Extrasolar Ocean Worlds". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 132 (1014): 084402. Bibcode:2020PASP..132h4402Q. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ab9504. S2CID 219964895.
  9. ^ "Earth Doesn't Actually Have The Most Water in The Solar System". ScienceAlert. 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  10. ^ "How Much Water is There on Earth?". USGS. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ^ Orosei, R.; Lauro, S. E.; Pettinelli, E.; Cicchetti, A.; Coradini, M.; Cosciotti, B.; Paolo, F. Di; Flamini, E.; Mattei, E.; Pajola, M.; Soldovieri, F. (2018-08-03). "Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars". Science. 361 (6401): 490–493. arXiv:2004.04587. Bibcode:2018Sci...361..490O. doi:10.1126/science.aar7268. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 30045881.
  12. ^ Lauro, Sebastian Emanuel; Pettinelli, Elena; Caprarelli, Graziella; Guallini, Luca; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Mattei, Elisabetta; Cosciotti, Barbara; Cicchetti, Andrea; Soldovieri, Francesco; Cartacci, Marco; Di Paolo, Federico (2020-09-28). "Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new MARSIS data". Nature Astronomy. 5: 63–70. arXiv:2010.00870. doi:10.1038/s41550-020-1200-6. ISSN 2397-3366. S2CID 222125007.
  13. ^ "Hubble observations suggest underground ocean on Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede". NASA press release. March 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  14. ^ Thomas, P. C.; Tajeddine, R.; Tiscareno, M. S.; Burns, J. A.; Joseph, J.; Loredo, T. J.; Helfenstein, P.; Porco, C. (2016). "Enceladus's measured physical libration requires a global subsurface ocean". Icarus. 264: 37–47. arXiv:1509.07555. Bibcode:2016Icar..264...37T. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.037. S2CID 118429372.
  15. ^ a b Beuthe, Mikael; Rivoldini, Attilio; Trinh, Antony (2016). "Enceladus's and Dione's floating ice shells supported by minimum stress isostasy". Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (19): 10, 088–10, 096. arXiv:1610.00548. Bibcode:2016GeoRL..4310088B. doi:10.1002/2016GL070650. S2CID 119236092.
  16. ^ Hussmann, H.; Sohl, F.; Spohn, T. (November 2006). "Subsurface oceans and deep interiors of medium-sized outer planet satellites and large trans-Neptunian objects". Icarus. 185 (1): 258–273. Bibcode:2006Icar..185..258H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.005.
  17. ^ Tortora, P.; Zannoni, M.; Hemingway, D.; Nimmo, F.; Jacobson, R. A.; Iess, L.; Parisi, M. (January 2016). "Rhea gravity field and interior modeling from Cassini data analysis". Icarus. 264: 264–273. Bibcode:2016Icar..264..264T. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.09.022. hdl:11585/581818.
  18. ^ Poggiali, V.; Hayes, A.; Mastrogiuseppe, M.; Le Gall, A. A. (2019-12-01). "The Bathymetry of Moray Sinus at Kraken Mare". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 23. Bibcode:2019AGUFM.P23D3540P.
  19. ^ Mastrogiuseppe, Marco; Poggiali, Valerio; Hayes, Alexander G.; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Picardi, Giovanni; Seu, Roberto; Flamini, Enrico; Mitri, Giuseppe; Notarnicola, Claudia; Paillou, Philippe; Zebker, Howard (2014). "The bathymetry of a Titan sea" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. 41 (5): 1432–1437. Bibcode:2014GeoRL..41.1432M. doi:10.1002/2013GL058618. S2CID 134356087.
  20. ^ Le Gall, A.; Malaska, M. J.; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Janssen, M. A.; Tokano, T.; Hayes, Alexander G.; Mastrogiuseppe, Marco; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Veyssière, G.; Encrenaz, P.; Karatekin, O. (2016-02-25). "Composition, seasonal change, and bathymetry of Ligeia Mare, Titan, derived from its microwave thermal emission". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 121 (2): 233–251. Bibcode:2016JGRE..121..233L. doi:10.1002/2015JE004920. hdl:11573/1560395.
  21. ^ a b Hayes, Alexander G.; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Lunine, Jonathan I. (May 2018). "A post-Cassini view of Titan's methane-based hydrologic cycle". Nature Geoscience. 11 (5): 306–313. Bibcode:2018NatGe..11..306H. doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0103-y. ISSN 1752-0908. S2CID 135092004.
  22. ^ Schenk, Paul; Beddingfield, Chloe; Bertrand, Tanguy; et al. (September 2021). "Triton: Topography and Geology of a Probable Ocean World with Comparison to Pluto and Charon". Remote Sensing. 13 (17): 3476. Bibcode:2021RemS...13.3476S. doi:10.3390/rs13173476.