It is Probable that Europa Supports Life

The full resolution is . . . Full Resolution: It is Probable that Europa Supports Living OrganismsLet me try to get our debate back onto the resolution.1. There is currently no evidence of life on Europa. [1]2. What we know or presume of Europa give a very small range of isolated locations that could be habitats for the most extremes forms of earth life. [2] The problem with this is that extreme environments on earth are inhabited, in part, by organisms similar to their less extreme cousins. These populations were like transplanted to their extreme locations through geological changes rather than biogenesis of new life in the extreme location.3. Sustaining life requires a complete biosphere. We have no evidence of life from energy gradients with no dependance on other life forms. Organisms called extremophiles on earth live in “physical extremes, e.g. temperature, radiation, pressure, and geochemical extreme, for example desiccation, salinity, pH, depletion of oxygen or extreme redox potential”. [3] Wile it is possible that there might be environments on Europa that might not be instantly deadly to all earth life, it is a far stretch of probability and imagination that there is a complete biosphere on Europa.Remember the resolution?“It is Probable that Europa Supports Living Organisms”This is not a debate about a possibility that it could support life. (Which is also doubtful)The claim is that it is probable that life already exists on Europa.Pro has the BOP to show evidence that life is likely.He has not done this.Here are reasons why it is difficult to claim “Europa Supports Living Organisms”1. There is not enough atmosphere around Europa to limit hard radiation. This makes life in the surface life unlikely. The thin ( 10^-12 bar) atmosphere is mostly molecular oxygen (which is highly toxic and explosive)2. Europa it too far from the sun for solar energy to drive processes like photosynthesis. This makes life below the ice unlikely.3. Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. [1] compared to Earth which is composed of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%); with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. [4] As far as we know there are too few resources to support the chemistry of life.4. Europa has an induced magnetic field through interaction with Jupiter's, which suggests the presence of a subsurface conductive layer. Some suggest that the liquid water is salty. This should not be confused with our oceans. This presumption has no evidence. Salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base [5] and the conductive layer could also be combinations of arsenic salts in a pH 14 solution.5. There may be very little liquid water. There are two models of Europa’s subsurface ocean. [1] One of these has models has a solid ice surface (-260 °F) and the possibility of liquid water beneath. The other model has “cold brittle surface ice” and a lower layer of “warm convecting ice” that may be at temperatures below -100 °F for the first 10 km with only a small layer of liquid water near the rocky interior.These five issues make it unlikely that Europa could even support life as we know it.There is no known process by which life can form from nonliving chemicals. Added to this unlikely situation is the claim PRO is making that life originated on Europa. The word abiogenesis means that life arose from non living chemical processes. There is absolutely no known process by which life can form from nonliving chemicals.Pro claims that liquid water, protection from radiation, oxygen, carbon, and energy exist on Europa. This may be true but the only thing we are certain of is that we do not yet have enough information. After several more NASA missions we may have evidence of organic molecules (carbon based chemistry), depth of water, what chemicals are dissolved in the water and much more. SO far we have hopes, dreams and questions. What we do know of the chemistry is that the surface is toxic to life as we know it. Hydrogen peroxide is created on Europa due to the intense radiation bombardment of the moon's surface as it moves through Jupiter's powerful magnetic field. [6] This seems to be the nature of the whole surface of Europa. There are so many guesses about life across the solar system. [7] This list includes Enceladus, Mars, Titan, Europa, Venus, Callisto and Ganymede of Jupiter. The possibility of extraterrestrial life is exciting, but there is no good reason to pretend it exists on Europa. So far as we know, Earth is the only place where life as we know it, exists.Let me respond to some of PROs statements.1. When I challenged that PRO presumes abiogenesis he responds with “maybe I didn't support my statement adequetly”. (spelling of original) I agree that PRO gave no support for the concept of abiogenesis in rounds 1 through 3. This is a major part of his argument with no evidence. Then PRO states “due to the fact that things tend to begin in this universe”. Actually, death is the constant in the universe, with life being an anomaly found only on earth.2. PRO is confused about the BOP. He states “but saying "Europa doesn't have a means for abiogenesis," doesn't necessarily mean that” . . . I do not need to prove the negative that Europa does not have life. PRO needs to prove “It is Probable that Europa Supports Living Organisms”3. PRO states “The means of abiogenesis are by hydrothermal vents driven by tidal flexing.” Hydrothermal vents (no evidence of their existence) or even volcanoes on the rocky “ocean floor” (no evidence of their existence either) only show that there is a source of heat energy. The presence of heat energy (if it were actually found) is a far stretch of the imagination from generating life from dead chemicals.4. PRO states “We do not have any definitive proof that there is life elsewhere in the universe” Actually, we have ZERO evidence of life anywhere but earth. It would be exciting to find life elsewhere. I hope we find life elsewhere. So far, however, there is no evidence of life outside earth. Europa has liquid water but it is not a “goldilocks zone” planet where we think life is probable. [8] It is hostile to life as we know it, and there is zero evidence of life. To date we have found three “goldilocks planets” [9] Even here there are no scientists who would yet say “it is probable they support living organisms”. These are simply our guesses at “most likely”, and Europa is no where near as likely as these.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org...(moon)[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...[3] http://eduep.uepb.edu.br...[4] http://en.wikipedia.org...[5] http://en.wikipedia.org...(chemistry)[6] http://www.space.com...[7] http://www.space.com...[8] http://en.wikipedia.org...[9] http://en.wikipedia.org...