Constraints on Europa's surface properties from primary and secondary crater morphology

Details Constraints on Europa's surface properties from primary and secondary crater morphology Constraints on Europa's surface properties from primary and secondary crater morphology

Dec 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010jgre..11512004b&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 115, Issue E12, CiteID E12004

Mathematics

Logic

2

Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Impact Phenomena, Cratering (6022, 8136), Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Surface Materials And Properties, Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Ices

Scientific paper

We investigate the near-surface properties of Europa's ice shell by examining small crater morphology; we use both primary and secondary craters for our analysis. For primary craters, the simple-to-complex transition provides an estimate of 0.19-0.36 MPa for the cratering effective strength. Through the aggregate statistics of over 100 profiles, we find that secondary craters on Europa tend toward smaller depth-to-diameter (d/D) ratios than primary craters, consistent with observations on other cratered surfaces (the Moon and Mars). In addition, we find that adjacent secondaries tend to be more shallow than distant secondaries, also consistent with trends seen on the Moon and Mars. The presence of numerous and far-flung secondaries requires a solid, competent surface for spallation that is inconsistent with weak ice. Although the effective strength evaluated by crater scaling laws does not have a direct quantitative relationship to lab-based measurements of shear or tensile strength, comparison to other observationally derived effective strengths and geologic materials suggests that the mechanical properties of Europa's surface ice should be consistent with terrestrial measurements of cold ice.

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