Time of Formation and Chemical Alteration of Small Icy Objects in the Outer Solar System

Details Time of Formation and Chemical Alteration of Small Icy Objects in the Outer Solar System Time of Formation and Chemical Alteration of Small Icy Objects in the Outer Solar System

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.5804c&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #58.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.503

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We consider scenarios for the early chronology of outer solar system icy objects (e.g. satellites, dwarf planets) depending on the time at which these objects formed with respect to the production of calcium-aluminum inclusions. Recent models and observations indicate that the outer Solar system could have formed within a few My after the beginning of the Solar system. In such conditions meteorite parent bodies and icy objects (from planetesimals to large icy objects) could have had a similar early history. We investigate conditions that may drive hydrothermal activity in icy planetesimals, and the consequences of such activity for the early history of bigger objects.
Early melting can be accompanied by hydrothermal circulation, resulting in aqueous alteration of the silicate interior and redistribution of major elements between the rock and volatile phases, as well as the destabilization of clathrates. These processes could have consequences on the long-term evolution of the larger bodies. For example, salts affect the melting temperature of icy shells and hydrated silicates affect heat transfer through a rocky core.
We identify several classes of planetesimals based on size, time of formation, initial rock mass fraction and volatile composition. The smallest ones are not affected by short-lived radioisotope decay. The medium-sized planetesimals (in the 5-20 km range) are affected by partial melting while planetesimals several tens of km in radius could be fully differentiated before they accreted into larger objects. We explore the consequences of the potential diversity of early outer solar system planetesimal composition on the evolution of icy satellites and dwarf planets.
Acknowledgements: This work has been conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Copyright 2008 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

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