Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Aug 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007epsc.conf..958g&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2007, Proceedings of a conference held 20-24 August, 2007 in Potsdam, Germany. Online at ht
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Recently, the Cassini spacecraft has detected ongoing geologic activity near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. In contrast, its north-polar region is heavily cratered and appears to have been geologically inactive for a long time. We propose that this hemispheric dichotomy is caused by the satellite's interior dynamics and that a degreeone convection pattern is driving the south-polar activity. We investigate a number of core sizes and internal heating rates for which degree-one convection occurs. The numerical simulations imply that a core radius of 100 ± 20 km and an energy input at a rate of 3.0 to 5.5 GW would be required for degree-one convection to prevail. This is within the range of the observed thermal power release near Enceladus' south pole. Provided that Enceladus is not fully differentiated, degree-one convection is found to be a viable mechanism to explain Enceladus' hemispheric dichotomy.
Grott Matthias
Hussmann Hauke
Sohl Frank
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