Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p23a1362d&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P23A-1362
Physics
5455 Origin And Evolution, 5475 Tectonics (8149)
Scientific paper
The Cassini spacecraft has revealed a unique ridge system on Iapetus. The ridge is 1600 km in length and 18 km in height. It is linear and located along 1/3 of the equator. Since the discovery of the ridge in January 2005, three prominent theories have been postulated on the origin of this very unique system. These theories include formation by ring accretion (Ip, 2005), despin and surface relaxation (Porco et al., 2005), and convection (Czechowski et al., 2008). Giese et al., (2008) has provided substantial evidence against the collapsed ring model, which suggests that the ridge did not form from ring accretion. The remaining two theories were analyzed in this research, mainly focusing on the convection theory. We investigated the possibility of despinning and surface relaxation forming the ridge. Based on the work done by Melosh (1977), despinning produces one of two specific tectonic features, neither of which is a ridge along the equator. Since the ridge cannot be described by the accepted features of despinning, it is unlikely that the ridge was a result of this. Finally, we conducted extensive analysis on several elements of the convection theory, including the size of the convection cells and the results of isostacy on Iapetus. It was concluded that these crucial components of the theory are not consistent with observations and it is therefore highly unlikely that the ridge was formed by convection. This research has displayed extensive evidence against all three theories, implying that the origin of the Iapetus ridge remains a mystery.
Dahlberg E. L.
Rathbun Julie A.
No associations
LandOfFree
Investigating the Origin of the Iapetus Ridge does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Investigating the Origin of the Iapetus Ridge, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Investigating the Origin of the Iapetus Ridge will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1236881