The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus

Details The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p21b0539r&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P21B-0539

Physics

5418 Heat Flow, 5430 Interiors (8147), 5450 Orbital And Rotational Dynamics (1221), 5475 Tectonics (8149), 6280 Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

Rapid strike-slip motion is predicted to be a consequence of diurnal tidal stresses in most satellites of the outer solar system with short orbital timescales [1]. Such motion can lead to near-surface heating through friction or viscous dissipation [2]. Here we discuss the effect of near-surface shear heating on convection in the underlying ice shells of icy satellites [3], with a focus on Enceladus and a possible origin of the south polar thermal anomaly [4]. We present models of convection in spherical ice shells including both spatially variable volumetric tidal heating [5] and regional shear heating localized in the top 5 km at either the pole or the equator. We observe that the presence of the near-surface heating strongly controls the convective pattern, increasing the wavelength, and promoting the formation of a hot upwelling beneath the shear zone. Our results suggest that localized near- surface heating may result in a degree-1 convective planform in an ice shell of a thickness that may be appropriate for a differentiated Enceladus (d < 0.36 Rsat). The near-surface heating and convection pattern will produce a localized heat flow anomaly. The upwelling beneath the shear zone also produces a few hundred meters of long-wavelength dynamic topography. The ℓ=2 component of the topography may cause reorientation of the satellite [6]. [1] Hoppa, G., B. R. Tufts, R. Greenberg, and P. Geissler, Icarus, 141, 287-298, 1999. [2] Nimmo, F., E. Gaidos, JGR, 107, 5021, 2002. [3] Han, L., A. P. Showman, LPSC XXXVIII, #2277, 2007. [4] Spencer, J. R., et al., Science, 311, 1401-1405. [5] Tobie, G., A. Mocquet, C. Sotin, Icarus, 177 534-549. [6] Nimmo, F., R. T. Pappalardo, Nature, 441, 614-616.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The effect of near-surface heating on the underlying convection pattern with application to Enceladus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1485201