Europa

2023 - 3 - 26

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Image courtesy of "European Central Bank"

Monetary developments in the euro area: February 2023 (European Central Bank)

The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits, was -2.7% in February, compared with -0.8% ...

[credit to euro area residents](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.AT2.A.I.U2.2000.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) decreased to 2.6% in February 2023 from 3.1% in the previous month. [adjusted loans to the private sector](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.A20TA.A.I.U2.2200.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) (i.e. - Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release and in annex tables lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Finally, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-monetary financial corporations (excluding insurance corporations and pension funds) was -5.0% in February, compared with -0.4% in January. The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) increased to 17.5% in February from 15.2% in January. The annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) increased to 21.3% in February from 13.7% in January. Among the borrowing sectors, the annual growth rate of [adjusted loans to households](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.A20T.A.I.U2.2250.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) decreased to 3.2% in February from 3.6% in January, while the annual growth rate of [adjusted loans to non-financial corporations](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.A20T.A.I.U2.2240.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) decreased to 5.7% in February from 6.1% in January. The annual growth rate of [credit to general government](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.AT2.A.I.U2.2100.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) decreased to 0.7% in February from 1.4% in January, while the annual growth rate of [credit to the private sector](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.U.AT2.A.I.U2.2200.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS) decreased to 3.3% in February from 3.8% in January. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits, was -2.7% in February, compared with -0.8% in January. The [deposits in M3](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.V.L2C.M.I.U2.2250.Z01.A+BSI.M.U2.Y.V.L2C.M.I.U2.2240.Z01.A+BSI.M.U2.Y.V.L2C.M.I.U2.2210.Z01.A&node=SEARCHRESULTS), the annual growth rate of deposits placed by households decreased to 2.6% in February from 3.3% in January, while the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-financial corporations decreased to 2.6% in February from 3.2% in January. [Data for contribution of the M3 counterparts to the annual growth rate of M3](http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/browseSelection.do?type=series&q=BSI.M.U2.Y.V.M30.X.I.U2.2300.Z01.A+BSI.M.U2.Y.U.LT2.X.Q.Z5.0000.Z01.F+BSI.M.U2.Y.U.A80.A.Q.U4.0000.Z01.F+BSI.M.U2.Y.U.AT2.A.Q.U2.2100.Z01.F+BSI.M.U2.Y.U.AT2.A.Q.U2.2200.Z01.F+BSI.M.U2.Y.U.R31A.X.Q.Z5.0000.Z01.F&node=SEARCHRESULTS)

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Image courtesy of "EarthSky"

Europa's icy crust rides on warm ocean currents (EarthSky)

Jupiter's moon Europa is the best-known of the ocean moons in the outer solar system. A very deep global ocean lies beneath its outer frozen ice crust.

The researchers say that the same ocean currents – and resulting drag and torque on the crust – could explain some of the geological features on Europa’s surface, too. So currents in the ocean can help move the ice crust. And the idea that the cracks and ridges we see on Europa’s surface could be tied to the circulation of the ocean below … With this in mind, researchers can compare images of Europa’s surface taken by Clipper with older ones taken by [Galileo](https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/) and [Voyager](https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/). As the ocean currents push and pull at the crust over time, they can stretch and contract the crust. [Europa](https://earthsky.org/space/juno-flyby-of-europa-september-29-2022/) is the best-known of the ocean moons in the outer solar system. To me, it was completely unexpected that what happens in the ocean’s circulation could be enough to affect the icy shell. [published](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022JE007648) the new [peer-reviewed](https://www.agu.org/Publish-with-AGU/Publish/) findings on February 19, 2023. Their new study suggests that currents at the top of the ocean push the ice crust above them, so that Europa’s crust “rides” on warm ocean currents. Before this, it was known through laboratory experiments and modeling that heating and cooling of Europa’s ocean may drive currents. But that fact alone didn’t seem to fully explain why the crust rotates at a significantly different speed. Scientists already knew that Europa’s crust was likely free-floating, sitting on top of the ocean below.

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