Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm..gp31d05b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #GP31D-05
Computer Science
Sound
0689 Wave Propagation (4275), 5416 Glaciation, 5464 Remote Sensing, 6218 Jovian Satellites, 6297 Instruments And Techniques
Scientific paper
A primary objective of future Europa studies will be to characterize the distribution of subsurface water. Another objective will be to understand the formation of surface features and the interchange processes between any ocean and the surface. Achieving these objectives unequivocally will require either direct or inferred knowledge of the position (in three dimensions) of any ice/water interface as well as the position within the ice of any brine pockets. It is well known from studies of Earth's ice sheets that radar sounding at frequencies of tens to a few hundred MHz can be used to characterize ice bodies that are many kilometers in thickness. Similarly, airborne radar sounding has proven to be a powerful tool for detecting and characterizing water bodies both within and beneath these ice sheets. In addition, Earth-based radar studies of Europa suggest that radar sounding of its icy shell is viable at wavelengths of a few meters. On the basis of these observations, the Instrument Definition Team for a Europa Radar Sounder developed radar sounding models based on a range of crustal formation processes for Europa's icy shell. Given Jovian noise considerations, we also evaluated the feasibility of successful orbital radar sounding based on these sounding models. Even under the worst-case assumptions, our conclusion is that any extensive liquid water that lies within a few kilometers of Europa's surface (i.e., conceivably within reach of future spacecraft exploration) can be detected by a technically feasible orbiting radar instrument. In addition, we showed that global radar sounding will well characterize in three dimensions any thermally conductive brittle ice layer overlying either a liquid ocean or a low-viscosity isothermal convecting layer. Mapping of radar scattering and interfaces within this brittle shell can be used to test directly the crustal formation hypotheses that dictate our understanding of Europan ice-ocean interchange processes.
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