Computer Science
Scientific paper
Aug 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009icar..202..694d&link_type=abstract
Icarus, Volume 202, Issue 2, p. 694-714.
Computer Science
13
Scientific paper
We investigate the internal thermal evolution of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs), small (radii <1000 km), icy (mean densities <2500kgm-3) bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, focusing on Pluto's moon Charon in particular. Our calculations are time-dependent and account for differentiation. We review evidence for ammonia hydrates in the ices of KBOs, and include their effects on the thermal evolution. A key finding is that the production of the first melt, at the melting point of ammonia dihydrate, ≈176 K, triggers differentiation of rock and ice. The resulting structure comprises a rocky core surrounded by liquids and ice, enclosed within a >100-km thick undifferentiated crust of rock and ice. This structure is especially conducive to the retention of subsurface liquid, and bodies the size of Charon or larger (radii >600 km) are predicted to retain some subsurface liquid to the present day. We discuss the possibility that this liquid can be brought to the surface rapidly via self-propagating cracks. We conclude that cryovolcanism is a viable process expected to affect the surfaces of large KBOs including Charon.
Cook Jason C.
Desch Steven J.
Doggett T. C.
Porter Simon B.
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