Europa: Tidal heating of upwelling thermal plumes and the origin of lenticulae and chaos melting
نویسندگان
چکیده
[1] Tidal heating models are linked to thermal convection models for ice having strongly temperature dependent viscosity. In the range of ice viscosity inferred from laboratory experiments, tidal forces will heat up rising diapirs on Europa. Partial melt produced in the rising diapirs is predicted to create disruption of near-surface materials and formation of lenticulae and chaos, even if the average ice layer thickness overlying an ocean is larger than 20 km.
منابع مشابه
A model for the temperature-dependence of tidal dissipation in convective plumes on icy satellites: Implications for Europa and Enceladus
To explain the formation of surface features on Europa, Enceladus, and other satellites, many authors have postulated the spatial localization of tidal heating within convective plumes. However, the concept that enhanced tidal heating can occur within a convective plume has not been rigorously tested. Most models of this phenomenon adopt a tidal heating with a temperature-dependence derived for...
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