Rock and ice solubility in watery exoplanets

Researchers conducted experiments exploring the solubility of silica and water under high pressures and temperatures, simulating conditions that may exist in the interiors of Neptune-like exoplanets; the results suggest mutual solubility between silica and water that may make the boundary between rock and ice fuzzy in such planets, with implications for understanding the geochemistry of water-rich planets, according to the authors.

Article #19-17448: “Large H2O solubility in dense silica and its implications for the interiors of water-rich planets,” by Carole Nisr et al.

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