Thrust faulting as the origin of dorsa in the trailing hemisphere of Enceladus

Patthoff, D. A.; Pappalardo, R. T.; Golombek, M. P.; Chilton, H.; Crow-Willard, E.; Thomas, P. C.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114815

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Consequently, to more appropriately compare Ariel's heat fluxes to other icy moons, we rely on our estimates that assume a pure H 2 O lithospheric composition. As shown in Table 3, Ariel's heat flux range is somewhat lower than the estimated heat fluxes for Miranda's Arden Corona (Beddingfield et al 2015a) and is substantially lower than the heat flux estimations for Enceladus (Bland et al 2007;Giese et al 2008;Bland et al 2012;Han et al 2012;Bland et al 2015;Patthoff et al 2022). Although our heat flux estimates for Ariel overlap the lower estimates for Europa (Hussmann et al 2002;Tobie et al 2003; and Ganymede Bland et al 2017), the higher estimates for these two Galilean moons are substantially higher than the estimated heat flux range for Ariel.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Icy Bodiescontrasting

confidence: 52%

Ariel's Elastic Thicknesses and Heat Fluxes

Beddingfield¹,

Cartwright²,

Leonard³

et al. 2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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The surface of Ariel displays regions that were resurfaced in the geologically recent past. Some of these regions include large chasmata that exhibit evidence for flexure. To estimate Ariel's heat fluxes, we analyzed flexure associated with the Pixie Group of chasmata, including Pixie, Kewpie, Brownie, Kra, Sylph, and an unnamed chasma, and the Kachina Group of chasmata, which includes Kachina Chasmata. We analyzed topography of these chasmata using digital elevation models developed for this work. Our results indicate that Ariel's elastic thicknesses range between 4.4 ± 0.7 km and 11.4 ± 1.4 km across the imaged surface. The younger Kachina Group has a relatively low elastic thickness of 4.4 ± 0.7 km compared to most chasmata in the older Pixie Group (4.1 ± 0.3 km to 11.4 ± 1.4 km). A pure H2O ice lithosphere would correspond to heat fluxes ranging from 17 to 46 mW m−2 for the Kachina Group and from 6 to 40 mW m−2 for the Pixie Group. Alternatively, if NH3 hydrates are present in Ariel's lithosphere, then the estimated heat fluxes are lower, ranging from 3 to 18 mW m−2 for the Kachina Group and from 1 to 16 mW m−2 for the Pixie Group. These results indicate that accounting for NH3 hydrates in the lithosphere substantially alters the resulting heat flux estimates, which could have important implications for understanding the lithospheric properties of other icy bodies where NH3-bearing species are expected to be present in their lithospheres. Our results are consistent with Ariel experiencing tidal heating generated from mean motion resonances with neighboring satellites in the past, in particular Titania and Miranda.

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Section: Comparison With Other Icy Bodiescontrasting

confidence: 52%

Ariel's Elastic Thicknesses and Heat Fluxes

Beddingfield¹,

Cartwright²,

Leonard³

et al. 2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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“…The morphology of the dorsa suggests they formed as thrust blocks and implies lithospheric shortening (compressive stress), consistent with the sense of strain inferred for the leading hemisphere (Patthoff et al. 2022 ). In contrast, the striated plains appear to have formed through extension (Bland et al.…”

Section: The Geology Of the Mid-sized Moonssupporting

confidence: 85%

“… 2018 ; Patthoff et al. 2022 ). The leading hemisphere terrain is dominated by ridge and trough structures of varying size and morphology that likely formed under compressional stress (Patthoff et al.…”

Section: The Geology Of the Mid-sized Moonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geologic Constraints on the Formation and Evolution of Saturn’s Mid-Sized Moons

Rhoden,

Ferguson,

Bottke

et al. 2024

Space Sci Rev

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Saturn’s mid-sized icy moons have complex relationships with Saturn’s interior, the rings, and with each other, which can be expressed in their shapes, interiors, and geology. Observations of their physical states can, thus, provide important constraints on the ages and formation mechanism(s) of the moons, which in turn informs our understanding of the formation and evolution of Saturn and its rings. Here, we describe the cratering records of the mid-sized moons and the value and limitations of their use for constraining the histories of the moons. We also discuss observational constraints on the interior structures of the moons and geologically-derived inferences on their thermal budgets through time. Overall, the geologic records of the moons (with the exception of Mimas) include evidence of epochs of high heat flows, short- and long-lived subsurface oceans, extensional tectonics, and considerable cratering. Curiously, Mimas presents no clear evidence of an ocean within its surface geology, but its rotation and orbit indicate a present-day ocean. While the moons need not be primordial to produce the observed levels of interior evolution and geologic activity, there is likely a minimum age associated with their development that has yet to be determined. Uncertainties in the populations impacting the moons makes it challenging to further constrain their formation timeframes using craters, whereas the characteristics of their cores and other geologic inferences of their thermal evolutions may help narrow down their potential histories. Disruptive collisions may have also played an important role in the formation and evolution of Saturn’s mid-sized moons, and even the rings of Saturn, although more sophisticated modeling is needed to determine the collision conditions that produce rings and moons that fit the observational constraints. Overall, the existence and physical characteristics of Saturn’s mid-sized moons provide critical benchmarks for the development of formation theories.

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“…Using the cratering model of Zahnle et al (2003), the surface age of the landform units in the Trailing Hemisphere Terrain decreases southward: ~2.0 Ga +/-0.2 Ga in the north towards the sub-saturnian point and ~700 Ma +/-20 Ma in the south towards the anti-saturnian point. Although the ridge system in this terrain was attributed to cryovolcanism (Spencer et al, 2009), more detailed mapping and comparison against terrestrial analogues suggest that they may have been formed by folding and thrusting during periods of compressional tectonics (Patthoff et al, 2022).…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 90%