Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p11f..08s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P11F-08
Other
5220 Hydrothermal Systems And Weathering On Other Planets, 6280 Saturnian Satellites
Scientific paper
A groundbased telescopic search for sodium emission near Saturn's moon Enceladus places a firm upper limit on the possible amount of sodium released by eruptions there. Independent observations at the Keck and Anglo- Australian Telescopes using high resolution spectroscopy failed to detect any sodium emission near Enceladus, despite the high sensitivity of such instruments to minute amounts of sodium originating at Jupiter's moons Io and Europa. Large amounts of sodium would be expected if Enceladus' plume material were derived directly from a long-lived ocean (or more confined "sea") in contact with rocky material. Chemical models predict that sodium would dissolve into such an ocean at mixing ratios relative to water of 10-4 to 10-1 (Zolotov et. al, 2007). Our numerical plumes models show that such high sodium concentrations would result in a long-lived torus of sodium encircling Saturn. Our detection upper limits fall orders of magnitude below these models, leading us to conclude that the Enceladus plumes do not originate in an ocean or sea. These observations support the alternative theories that Enceladus' plumes are generated by shear heating of the icy crust - resulting in sublimation or melting - or the decomposition of clathrates. These results do not rule out the possibility that a deep ocean exists at depth that is not directly responsible for the plumes. Plume sampling by Cassini or potential future missions, however, would not be probing this potentially habitable environment. This work has been supported by NSF's Planetary Astronomy Program.
Brown Michael E.
Burger Matthew Howard
Johnson Robert E.
Kargel Jeff S.
Schaller Emily L.
No associations
LandOfFree
No Ocean Source for Enceladus' Plumes 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 No Ocean Source for Enceladus' Plumes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and No Ocean Source for Enceladus' Plumes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1483796