Geomorphological Analysis of the Southwestern Margin of Xanadu, Titan: Insights on Tectonics

Matteoni, Pietro; Mitri, G.; Poggiali, Valerio; Mastrogiuseppe, Marco

doi:10.1029/2020je006407

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 110 publications

(313 reference statements)

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“…Similar tectonic features have also been documented on other terrestrial planets, including Mars (e.g., Mars, Andrews-Hanna et al, 2008;G. Schmidt et al, 2022), as well as on ocean worlds such as Ganymede (e.g., Rossi et al, 2018), Enceladus (e.g., Rossi et al, 2020), and Titan (e.g., Burkhard et al, 2022;Matteoni et al, 2020). Europa, too, exhibits several examples of strike-slip structures, such as along Agenor Linea in the southern trailing hemisphere and Astypalaea Linea in the south polar region (Hoyer et al, 2014;Kattenhorn, 2004;Prockter et al, 2000;Tufts et al, 1999Tufts et al, , 2000.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Evolution of Thrace Macula on Europa: Strike-slip tectonic control and Identification of the youngest terrains

Matteoni

Neesemann

Jaumann

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Chaos terrains are geologically young and extensively disrupted surface features of Europa, thought to be an expression of the subsurface ocean interacting with the surface. The most prominent examples of this terrain on Europa are Conamara Chaos, and Thera and Thrace Maculae, all prime targets for the upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions to assess the astrobiological potential of Europa. Of the three features, Thrace Macula is currently the least studied and understood. It intersects both Agenor Linea to the north and Libya Linea to the south, two important regional-scale bands whose interaction with Thrace is yet to be fully unraveled, especially in terms of their relative ages of emplacement and activity. Through detailed structural mapping using Galileo Solid State Imager data and terrain analysis on Digital Terrain Models, we here develop a novel hypothesis on the mechanisms that have been involved in the study area. We find that Thrace Macula is bordered along most sides by preexisting strike-slip faults that have constrained its emplacement and areal distribution. We determine a sequence of events in the area involving the formation of Agenor Linea, followed by that of Libya Linea first and Thrace Macula later, and ultimately by strike-slip tectonic activity driven by Libya Linea and displacing a portion of Thrace Macula. Therefore, Thrace’s subsurface material, uprising along faults postdating its formation, likely represents the freshest possible that could be sampled by future spacecraft in this region, a major consideration for the upcoming Europa Clipper mission.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Evolution of Thrace Macula on Europa: Strike-slip tectonic control and Identification of the youngest terrains

Matteoni

Neesemann

Jaumann

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They have also been observed on terrestrial planets (e.g., Mars, Andrews-Hanna et al, 2008;G. Schmidt et al, 2022) and on other ocean worlds, Ganymede (e.g., Rossi et al, 2018), Enceladus (e.g., Rossi et al, 2020), and Titan (e.g., Burkhard et al, 2022;Matteoni et al, 2020). Several other examples exist on Europa as well, such as along Agenor Linea in the southern trailing hemisphere and Astypalaea Linea in the south polar region (Hoyer et al, 2014;Kattenhorn & Prockter, 2014;Tufts et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Matteoni

Neesemann

Jaumann

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Faults and fractures may emplace fresh material onto Europa's surface, originating from shallow reservoirs within the ice shell or directly from the subsurface ocean. Ménec Fossae is a region of particular interest, as it displays, within a relatively small area, the interaction of several geological features such as bands, double ridges, chaotic terrains, and fossae. These features might affect the emplacement of buried material and subsequent exposure of fresh volatiles, prime targets for the upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions in order to assess Europa's astrobiological potential. Previous studies already revealed that a deep central trough is present at Ménec Fossae, flanked by several subparallel minor troughs and by few asymmetrical scarps with lobate planforms. The presence of such features has motivated this study, given its potential to provide clear indications on the tectonic regime involved. Through detailed geomorphological-structural mapping on Galileo Solid State Imager data and terrain analysis on Digital Terrain Models, we could develop a novel hypothesis on the formation mechanisms that might have been involved in the study area. We propose that Ménec Fossae has been shaped by transtensional (strike-slip with a major extensional component) tectonic activity, as indicated by the orientation and relationship of the tectonic features present. The shear heating related to such a tectonic setting possibly led to the formation of a shallow water reservoir, that in turn could have generated the observed chaotic terrains, double ridges, and fossae. These results strengthen the case for widely distributed shallow water reservoirs within Europa's ice shell.

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“…Transtensional features are widespread on Earth, mainly within large‐scale strike‐slip settings (Donzé et al., 2021). They have also been observed on terrestrial planets (e.g., Mars, Andrews‐Hanna et al., 2008; G. Schmidt et al., 2022) and other ocean worlds, Ganymede (e.g., Rossi et al., 2018), Enceladus (e.g., Rossi et al., 2020), and Titan (e.g., Burkhard et al., 2022; Matteoni et al., 2020). Several other examples exist on Europa as well, such as along Agenor Linea in the southern trailing hemisphere and Astypalaea Linea in the south polar region (Hoyer et al., 2014; Prockter et al., 2000; Tufts et al., 1999, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike‐Slip Tectonics Origin Above a Possible Shallow Water Reservoir

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Faults and fractures may emplace fresh material onto Europa's surface, originating from shallow reservoirs within the ice shell or directly from the subsurface ocean. Ménec Fossae is a region of particular interest as it displays the interaction of several geological features, including bands, double ridges, chaotic terrains, and fossae, within a relatively small area. These features might affect the emplacement of buried material and subsequent exposure of fresh volatiles, prime targets for the upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions in order to assess Europa's astrobiological potential. Previous studies have already revealed that a deep central trough is present at Ménec Fossae, flanked by several subparallel minor troughs and by a few asymmetrical scarps with lobate planforms. The presence of such features has motivated this study, given its potential to provide clear indications on the tectonic regime involved. Through detailed geomorphological‐structural mapping using Galileo Solid State Imager data and terrain analysis on Digital Terrain Models, we could develop a novel hypothesis on the formation mechanisms that might have been involved in the study area. We propose that Ménec Fossae has been shaped by transtensional (strike‐slip with an extensional component) tectonic activity, as indicated by the orientation and relationship of the tectonic features present. Likely, such transtensional tectonism occurred above or associated with shallow subsurface water, consistent with the overall morphology and topography of the study area and the presence of chaotic terrains and double ridges. These results strengthen the case for widely distributed shallow water reservoirs within Europa's ice shell.

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Geomorphological Analysis of the Southwestern Margin of Xanadu, Titan: Insights on Tectonics

Cited by 6 publications

References 110 publications

Evolution of Thrace Macula on Europa: Strike-slip tectonic control and Identification of the youngest terrains

Evolution of Thrace Macula on Europa: Strike-slip tectonic control and Identification of the youngest terrains

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike‐Slip Tectonics Origin Above a Possible Shallow Water Reservoir

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