Characterizing deposits emplaced by cryovolcanic plumes on Europa

Quick, L. C.; Hedman, Matthew M.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113667

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our interpretation is consistent with the observation that jetting occurs in discrete locations along the Tiger Stripes (Porco et al., 2014), and therefore a connection with the sub‐ice ocean may not be uniform along the Tiger Stripes and may be triggered as small pockets of liquid make their way up along a complex fracture surface. Similarly, on Europa, the discontinuous locations of salt deposits along major fractures have been interpreted as evidence for small and discrete plume vents (Quick & Hedman, 2020), suggesting that an ocean connection may occur only via small‐scale conduits along major fractures on that moon as well. Hurford et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our interpretation is consistent with the observation that jetting occurs in discrete locations along the Tiger Stripes (Porco et al, 2014), and therefore a connection with the sub-ice ocean may not be uniform along the Tiger Stripes and may be triggered as small pockets of liquid make their way up along a complex fracture surface. Similarly, on Europa, the discontinuous locations of salt deposits along major fractures have been interpreted as evidence for small and discrete plume vents (Quick & Hedman, 2020), suggesting that an ocean connection may occur only via small-scale conduits along major fractures on that moon as well. Hurford et al (2020) calculated the largest seismic event expected on Enceladus to have a seismic moment of 7.5 × 10 13 N m. An icequake this size could be generated if a small portion of one of the TSF slipped a distance of 0.03 m (e.g., slip area = ∼7 × 10 5 m 2 ; or <<1% of the fault area of one fracture, assuming L = 115 km, H = 0.5 km, 1/10 full ice-shell thickness).…”

Section: New Insights Into Icy-rift Behavior and Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Projected Seismic Activity at the Tiger Stripe Fractures on Enceladus, Saturn, From an Analog Study of Tidally Modulated Icequakes Within the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dissipation of tidal energy is expected to generate seismicity on icy‐ocean worlds; however, the distribution and timing of this seismic activity throughout an orbital cycle is not known. We used new observations from an icy‐ocean‐world analog environment on Earth to examine the relationship between tidally driven tensile stress and seismic activity within an ice shell. We investigated a pair of rifts within Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf which are tidally stressed in a manner analogous to the orbital cycle of tidal stress experienced by Enceladus' Tiger Stripe Fractures. We found that seismic activity at the Antarctic rifts is sensitive to both the amplitude and the rate of tensile stress across the rifts. We combined these findings with calculated stress values along Enceladus' Tiger Stripe Fractures to predict seismic‐activity levels expected along the ice‐shell fractures. We predict a peak in seismicity along the four Tiger Stripe Fractures when Enceladus is 90°–120° past pericenter in its orbit around Saturn, at which point tensile stresses would reach ∼2/3 of their maximum value. We also used the magnitude distribution of icequakes along Antarctic rifts to investigate implications for the likely size of stick‐slip rupture patches along icy faults on Enceladus. Our findings predict that the Tiger Stripe Fractures should produce sustained, low‐magnitude seismic events that involve rupture along discrete portions of each fracture's total length. We predict that seismicity would fall to 50% of peak levels when stresses across the Tiger Stripe Fractures are dominantly compressional.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: New Insights Into Icy-rift Behavior and Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projected Seismic Activity at the Tiger Stripe Fractures on Enceladus, Saturn, From an Analog Study of Tidally Modulated Icequakes Within the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The remnant melt pocket should be observable as a radar reflector in the subsurface (Pettinelli et al, 2016). The surroundings of the central fracture system should also be enriched in salt and therefore observable spectroscopically (Quick & Hedman, 2020). In this context, it is interesting to note that previous work (Moore et al, 2001) reported that the central pit of Manannán corresponds to a bright spot seen within the crater in a Solid State Imager image from flyby G1 (Moore et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brine Migration and Impact‐Induced Cryovolcanism on Europa

Steinbrügge

Voigt

Wolfenbarger

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite evidence for plumes on Jupiter's moon Europa, no surface features have been definitively identified as the source of the plumes to date. Furthermore, it remains unknown whether the activity originates from near-surface water reservoirs within the ice shell or if it is sourced from the underlying global ocean. Here we investigate brine pocket migration, studied previously in the context of sea ice on Earth, as a process for transporting brine along thermal gradients. We show that the fracture system located in the center of Europa's Manannán crater is consistent with the formation of a subsurface brine reservoir. After the initial impact, residual aqueous melt concentrated via brine pocket migration as the target material cooled. Freezing and overpressurization then resulted in a cryovolcanic eruption. The volume of the emptied reservoir and the critical composition at the end of migration provide further constraints on the average salinity of Europa's ice shell. Plain Language Summary Jupiter's satellite Europa has a subsurface ocean covered by an icy shell. We show how small pockets of brine can migrate within the ice from colder areas to warmer areas. This can happen even at very low temperatures, below the point where pure water would freeze, because the water becomes saltier and saltier as it migrates. By looking at an impact crater on Europa, which was initially warm in the center and cooled inward from its colder surroundings, we can study how the water migrated toward the center and formed a central water reservoir. As the final water pocket at the center of the crater started to freeze, the increasing pressure lead to a cryovolcanic eruption that emplaced brine onto the surface to form a prominent "spider" feature before the ice collapsed into the cavity below. Using a digital terrain model of the crater and collapse feature, we estimate how much water erupted and how salty Europa's ice shell is.

show abstract

“…Thus, the effect of the UV radiation only would be effective in the surface of the icy moons. However, one might establish a transport of in/organic materials between the liquid subsurface and the frozen surface owing to the presence of the plumes observed on Enceladus and potentially on Europa (e.g., Hansen et al, 2020;Ingersoll et al, 2020;Pasek, 2020;Quick and Hedman, 2020). In this way, one chemistry might be observed in the water-ice interfaces of the subsurfaces and the other one in the water-ice interfaces of the frost layer of the surface.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reactivity of Cyanide at Water-Ice Interfaces: Implications for the Search for Organics on Icy Worlds

Marín-Yaseli

González-Toril

Ruíz-Bermejo

2020

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Icy moons in our solar system are targets of interest to search for signs of life and habitability beyond Earth. They are the astrobiological aim for several developing space missions (JUICE, Europa Clipper, and Europa Lander). A further understanding of the processes that force a planetary object to develop a biological system and to develop habitability conditions could be obtained by adopting a prebiotic chemistry point of view. In this regard, it is highly interesting to search for organic compounds synthesized from cyanide since it has been proposed that polymerization of NH 4 CN would be applicable to icy planetary environments. Thus, the effect of water freeze-thaw cycles, UV-radiation and salts on the polymerization of NH 4 CN was explored as an approach to understand the possible organic chemistry of icy worlds. As a result, insoluble and soluble NH 4 CN polymers, synthesized under multiple conditions, were analyzed by GC-MS. A diverse set of amino acids, carboxylic acids, and several N-heterocycles were identified. Glyoxylic acid was detected under particular reaction conditions, extending the plausible favorable conditions for the emergence of this molecule, referred to as the "glyoxylate scenario." In addition, the GC-MS results were studied by multivariate analysis, showing that the ice-water interfaces may be ideal places to develop complex organic chemistry from a carbon source as simple as cyanide.

show abstract

Characterizing deposits emplaced by cryovolcanic plumes on Europa

Cited by 27 publications

References 62 publications

Projected Seismic Activity at the Tiger Stripe Fractures on Enceladus, Saturn, From an Analog Study of Tidally Modulated Icequakes Within the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Projected Seismic Activity at the Tiger Stripe Fractures on Enceladus, Saturn, From an Analog Study of Tidally Modulated Icequakes Within the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Brine Migration and Impact‐Induced Cryovolcanism on Europa

Reactivity of Cyanide at Water-Ice Interfaces: Implications for the Search for Organics on Icy Worlds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About