A High-Amplitude Thermal Inertia Anomalies of Probable Magnetospheric Origin in the Saturnian System.

Details A High-Amplitude Thermal Inertia Anomalies of Probable Magnetospheric Origin in the Saturnian System. A High-Amplitude Thermal Inertia Anomalies of Probable Magnetospheric Origin in the Saturnian System.

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p14b..01h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P14B-01

Physics

[6033] Planetary Sciences: Comets And Small Bodies / Magnetospheres, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

In 2010 a thermal anomaly was discovered on Mimas' surface using Cassini Composite Infrared Spetrometer (CIRS) data. Spectral maps of Mimas' daytime thermal emission show a sharp V-shaped boundary, with an apex centered at 0° N and 180° W, separating relatively warm daytime temperatures from a cooler anomalous region occupying low- to mid-latitudes on the leading hemisphere. Since this discovery new CIRS observations have been made of this region, increasing both the local time and longitude coverage of the area. The local time coverage now provided by the CIRS data set is sufficient to constrain the thermal surface property variation across this region. October 2010 observations show that the anomalous region is warmer than its surroundings at night, indicating that its thermal inertia is much higher than its surroundings: 66±23 Jm-2K-1s1/2, compared to <16 Jm-2K-1s1/2 outside the anomaly. Bolometric Bond albedos are similar between the two regions, in the range 0.49 - 0.70. The additional longitude coverage provided by new observations taken in January 2011 show that the anomalous region is centered on Mimas' leading hemisphere (and not around Herschel crater as previously postulated), pointing to an exogenous production mechanism. The mapped portion of the thermally anomalous region coincides in shape and location to a region of high-energy electron deposition from Saturn's magnetosphere, which also has unusually high near-UV reflectance (Schenk et al., 2011). A similar thermal anomaly tentatively detected on Tethys' leading hemisphere, includes a region that also undergoes high-energy electron bombardment and has high near-UV reflectance (Schenk et al., 2011). Therefore, high-energy electrons, which penetrate both Mimas' and Tethys' surface to the centimeter depths probed by diurnal temperature variations, also likely alter the surface texture and dramatically increase its thermal inertia. References Schenk, P., Hamilton, D., Johnson, R. McKinnon, W.B., Paranicas, C., Schmidt, J., Showalter, M., 2011. Plasma, plumes and rings: Saturn system dynamics as recorded in global color patterns on its midsize icy satellites. Icarus 211, 740-757.

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