Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p72b0497e&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P72B-0497
Other
5418 Heat Flow, 5430 Interiors (8147), 5724 Interiors (8147), 6280 Saturnian Satellites, 6290 Uranian Satellites
Scientific paper
Eight small moons of Saturn and Uranus have a size and mass sufficient to have formed, and possibly maintained, an aqueous seam between a radiogenic rocky core and an insulating icy mantle. Analysis of thermal conduction in a composite sphere indicates that, at radiogenic rates typical of chondritic meteorites, four of these moons could maintain thin oceans even without tidal or other uncharacterized internal heating. If the radiogenic rate of rocky outer-planetary material is characteristic of the returned Lunar samples, which is about double the chondritic rate, aqueous seams may have formed in all eight moons as well as in Triton and Pluto, and could be maintained to the present day. Trans-Neptunian Objects with radii greater than 910 km are also candidates for thin oceans, the minimum radius reduced to 720 km if Lunar radiogenic rates are assumed. The assumption of differentiation of rock and ice in smaller bodies is supported by the high radiogenic rates during the formation of the Solar System. The melting point of icy materials was easily exceeded, leading to their outward flow and the corresponding concentration of radiogenic material in the core. Bodies with a density of about 1750 kg/m3 have the best proportion of ice and rock that balances the insulating value of the former with the heat production of the latter. Lower density bodies with higher water content such as Rhea may be more easily differentiated and therefore more likely to form and maintain an ocean. The presence of low-viscosity seams can be a major influence on the character and dissipation of tidal energy.
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