Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010apj...724..887d&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 724, Issue 2, pp. 887-894 (2010).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
2
Convection, Planets And Satellites: Composition, Planets And Satellites: Formation, Planets And Satellites: Individual: Titan, Planets And Satellites: Interiors, Planets And Satellites: Physical Evolution
Scientific paper
A key parameter that controls the crystallization of primordial oceans in large icy moons is the presence of anti-freeze compounds, which may have maintained primordial oceans over the age of the solar system. Here we investigate the influence of methanol, a possible anti-freeze candidate, on the crystallization of Titan's primordial ocean. Using a thermodynamic model of the solar nebula and assuming a plausible composition of its initial gas phase, we first calculate the condensation sequence of ices in Saturn's feeding zone, and show that in Titan's building blocks methanol can have a mass fraction of ~4 wt% relative to water, i.e., methanol can be up to four times more abundant than ammonia. We then combine available data on the phase diagram of the water-methanol system and scaling laws derived from thermal convection to estimate the influence of methanol on the dynamics of the outer ice I shell and on the heat transfer through this layer. For a fraction of methanol consistent with the building blocks composition we determined, the vigor of convection in the ice I shell is strongly reduced. The effect of 5 wt% methanol is equivalent to that of 3 wt% ammonia. Thus, if methanol is present in the primordial ocean of Titan, the crystallization may stop, and a sub-surface ocean may be maintained between the ice I and high-pressure ice layers. A preliminary estimate indicates that the presence of 4 wt% methanol and 1 wt% ammonia may result in an ocean of thickness at least 90 km.
Deschamps Frédéric
Lunine Jonathan I.
Mousis Olivier
Sanchez-Valle Carmen
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