Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..862v&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a
Other
Scientific paper
The tidal heating that sustains a subsurface ocean in Europa likely varied in intensity through the moons history due to the exchange of orbital angular momentum with the innermost Galilean satellite, Io [1]. Tidal interactions elsewhere in the solar system — e.g. in Neptunes moon Triton, and in Kuiper belt systems such as Pluto-Charon and the 2003 EL61 system (Santa-Rudolph-Blitzen) — highlight the potential for vigorously heated subsurface oceans and thus the existence of hydrothermal systems in icy worlds. Understanding the extent and nature of hydrothermal activity in such systems is important for assessing the availability of essential elements and organic compounds necessary sustain and, possibly, originate life [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. During periods of low tidal heating in such systems, hydrothermalism driven by serpentinization (reaction of water with ultramafic rock) may be extensive, with implications for seafloor production of hydrogen, methane and other potential nutrients, and elements necessary to originate and support life in icy world oceans. For Enceladus, an anomalously dense satellite for its size, radiogenic heating and overburden pressure in the mantle are sufficiently low to permit fracturing of the entirety of the moons rocky interior on long time scales [8]. Estimates of methane production from serpentinization of Enceladus interior, based on measured fluxes from the Lost City Hydrothermal Field [9], are an order of magnitude greater than fluxes observed at Enceladuss south polar plume by the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer [10]. For the largest icy worlds in the Solar System — Titan, Ganymede and Callisto—pressures at and below the H2Orock interface are likely too high to permit the formation of microfractures, so an alternative explanation is required if methane is endogenous. Aqueous alteration may be augmented from the above estimates if altered crust is rejuvenated during periods of increased tidal dissipation. Crustal temperatures need only exceed 650 K to permit dehydration of serpentine, and such temperatures are predicted for calculations of Europas orbital evolution [1]. However, the production of hydrogen on subsequent serpentinization requires that reduced materials are recycled into the objects interior. Moreover, permeability necessary for transporting fluid and minerals between ocean and crust depends on the flow parameters for the system in question: pressure, temperature, composition, viscosity, etc. We compare these parameters for the class of objects represented by icy worlds in the Solar System.
Hussmann Hauke
Vance Stephanie
No associations
LandOfFree
Tidal Evolution and Hydrothermal Activity in IcyWorlds 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 Tidal Evolution and Hydrothermal Activity in IcyWorlds, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Tidal Evolution and Hydrothermal Activity in IcyWorlds will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1795205