Joule Heating of the South Polar Terrain on Enceladus

Details Joule Heating of the South Polar Terrain on Enceladus Joule Heating of the South Polar Terrain on Enceladus

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p42a..08h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P42A-08

Biology

[2700] Magnetospheric Physics, [5200] Planetary Sciences: Astrobiology, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

Accounting for the plumes and observed heat flux in the South Polar Terrain of Enceladus remains largely a mystery. We report that Joule heating in Enceladus may account for several, to a few tens of megawatts of power across the observed “tiger stripe” fractures. Electric currents passing through subsurface channels of low salinity and just a few kilometres in depth could supply a source of power to the South Polar Terrain, providing a small but previously unaccounted for contribution to the observed heat flux and plume activity. Examinations of electrical heating in the Jupiter system have led to conclusions that it is unimportant; however at Enceladus such heating may be an important contribution to localized heating and the persistence of the tiger stripes. The exclusion of salt ions during refreezing serves to enhance volumetric Joule heating and extend the lifetime of liquid water fractures in the South Polar Terrain.

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