The study provides on a new model for supporting life in the ocean of Europa with a high productivity metabolism (i.e., dissimilatory iron reduction) by the “iron snow “ mechanism based on acid mine drainage pit lakes on Earth. The model provides a much wider diversity of habitable ecological niches and much higher productivity than previous studies had suggested, which focused mainly on low-productivity metabolisms, such as methanogenesis and sulfate reduction, which we also include in our model. The greater range of ecological niches combined with the greater primary productivity supported by the iron snow model increase the chances of life-detection on Europa.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2316452121

https://astrobiology.com/2024/04/bioenergetics-of-iron-snow-fueling-life-on-europa.html

https://www.saganet.org/articles/astrobiology-revealed-16