Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2602b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #26.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1025
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Europa's surface temperature distribution results from global effects such as insolation and heat flow, as well as local topography and possibly active tectonic processes. Accurate surface temperature models will greatly benefit future orbital investigations searching for global-scale variations in heat flow and local thermal anomalies resulting from frictional heating on faults or diapirs (Paige et al, this meeting). At the global scale, a major challenge for such models is the strong influence of Jupiter on the solar and infrared flux at Europa's surface. At the local scale, the thermal signature is dominated by complex topography. In order to address these two problems, we developed a model that modifies the Digital Moon program created by D. Paige and S. Meeker (2009) that uses a 3-dimensional geodesic gridding scheme to calculate the surface temperature of a body due to multiple scatterings of radiation and heat flow. We can account for Jupiter's influence on Europa by including data on Jupiter's solar and infrared radiation (which accounts for roughly 30% of the radiation at Europa), and on Europa's orbit (as Europa spends several minutes out of its 3.55 day orbital period in Jupiter's shadow). To address the issue of Europa's complicated terrain, we have simulated the effects of local heat flow as well as added topography and surface roughness to the thermal model by using digital elevation models produced by Schenk and Pappalardo (2004) that show altitude changes of several hundred meters and tectonic features that may produce regions of anomalously high heat flow.
Bennett Kristen
Greenhagen Benjamin
Hayne Paul
Paige David
Schenk Paul
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