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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Enceladus: An Active Cryovolcanic Satellite

Enceladus is one of the most remarkable satellites in the solar system, as revealed by Cassini's detection of active plumes erupting from warm fractures near its south pole. This discovery makes Enceladus the only icy satellite known to exhibit ongoing internally driven geological activity. The activity is presumably powered by tidal heating maintained by Enceladus 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Dione, but many questions remain. For instance, it appears difficult or impossible to maintain the currently observed radiated power (probably at least 6 GW) in steady state. It is also not clear how Enceladus first entered its current self-maintaining warm and dissipative state initial heating from non-tidal sources is probably required. There are also many unanswered questions about Enceladus interior. The silicate fraction inferred from its density of 1.68 g per cubic centimeter is probably differentiated into a core, though we have only indirect evidence for differentiation. Above the core there is probably a global or regional water layer, inferred from several models of tidal heating, and an ice shell thick enough to support the ~1 kilometer amplitude topography seen on Enceladus. It is possible that dissipation is largely localized beneath the south polar region. Enceladus surface geology, ranging from moderately cratered terrain to the virtually crater-free active south polar region, is highly diverse, tectonically complex, and remarkably symmetrical about the rotation axis and the direction to Saturn. South polar activity is concentrated along the four tiger stripe fractures, which radiate heat at temperatures up to at least 167 K and are the source of multiple plumes ejecting ~200 kilograms per second of H2O vapor along with significant N2 (or C2H4), CO2, CH4, NH3, and higher-mass hydrocarbons. The escaping gas maintains Saturn's neutral gas torus, and the plumes also eject a large number of micron-sized H2O ice grains that populate Saturn's E-ring. The mechanism that powers the plumes is not well understood, and whether liquid water is involved is a subject of active debate (but likely nonetheless). Enceladus provides a promising potential habitat for life in the outer solar system, and the active plumes allow the unique opportunity for direct sampling of that zone. Enceladus is thus a prime target for Cassini's continued exploration of the Saturn system, and will be a tempting target for future missions.

Spencer, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Temporal relationships among lunar crustal rocks

Temporal relationships among the three most common suites of lunar crustal rocks have been investigated by obtaining new high precision ages on Felsic/Alkali-suite Quartz monzodiorite Clast B from breccia 15405 and Magnesian-suite norite 78235/6/8/55/56 and comparing them to previously dated ferroan anorthosite sample 60025. The weighted average age of 4337.19 ± 0.49 Ma of 15405 Clast B is defined by zircon U-Pb and Pb-Pb ages as well as mineral isochron Sm-Nd and Nd-Nd ages. It is identical to the weighted average age for Apollo 17 norite 78235/6/8/55/56 of 4334.1 ± 3.5 Ma which is defined by Pb-Pb ages measured on baddeleyites in this investigation and less precise Pb-Pb and Sm-Nd ages reported in the literature. Both ages are ∼ 25 Ma younger than the weighted average of Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb ages reported in the literature on ferroan anorthosite 60025 of 4359.3 ± 2.3 Ma. The fact that ages of all three samples are defined by multiple U-Pb, Pb-Pb, Sm-Nd, and 142 Nd- 143 Nd chronometers provide confidence that they record the igneous crystallization history of the samples and do not represent disturbances or mixing lines with no temporal significance. Here, the extent to which these three ages represent broader scale magmatism is difficult to evaluate. Nevertheless, the age defined for 15405 Clast B, 78235/6/8/55/56, and 60025 are contemporaneous with the peak of ages observed in detrital zircons from the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 17 landing sites (4340 ± 20 Ma), a Mg-suite Sm-Nd whole rock isochron defined by samples from Apollo 14, 15, 16, and 17 landing sites (4348 ± 25 Ma), and a Ferroan Anorthosite-suite Sm-Nd whole rock isochron defined by samples from the Apollo 15 and 16 landing sites (4354 ± 29 Ma). This implies that Ferroan Anorthosite-suite magmatism is temporally distinct and earlier than magmatism associated with the Mg-suite and the Felsic/Alkali-suite, as predicted by the lunar magma ocean model of lunar differentiation. The short 35 ± 10 Ma interval between primary ferroan anorthosite magmatism and secondary magmatism suggests that the lunar crust formed over a limited period of time. Although heat from decay of long-lived isotopes, large impacts, tidal heating associated with interactions between the Earth and Moon, and density driven overturn of the magma ocean have all been invoked to explain production of ancient secondary crustal magmatism, only tidal heating and cumulate overturn are consistent with the apparent short duration of secondary crustal magmatism and the great depth of crystallization implied for some Mg-suite samples. The initial ε 143 Nd values derived from the 15405 Clast B and 78238 Mg-suite norite isochrons, as well as a Mg-suite whole rock isochron are −0.23 ± 0.11, −0.27 ± 0.74, and −0.25 ± 0.09, respectively. They are identical within uncertainty indicating that Mg-suite and Felsic/Alkali-suite magmas were derived from materials that had the same time averaged Sm/Nd ratios since the formation of the solar system. This, combined with the contemporaneous nature of 15405 Clast B and 78235/6/8/55/56 Mg-suite norite, is consistent with evolution of both samples, and likely both magma suites, from a common source through closed system fractional crystallization or partial melting processes.

Chronology↗
NASA NTRS1990

The coupled orbital and thermal evolution of Triton

The coupled orbital and thermal evolution of Triton is simulated with a model of the satellite having temperature-dependent k/Q (k is the second degree Love number and Q is the tidal dissipation factor). Large changes in orbital and interior properties occur in a short time span of less than 10 to the 8th years. The peak tidal heating rate exceeds the radioactive heating rate by a factor of at least 1000. The ability of tidal heating to overwhelm solid state convection and cause global melting is unequivocally demonstrated. Triton's initial thermal state and composition are shown to control the length of time that passes between capture from heliocentric orbit and the occurrene of swift and dramatic changes in orbital and internal properties. This time interval could have been several billion years.

Ross, Martin N.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Mantle Convection in Io

Io has very high surface heat flow and an abundance of volcanic activity, which are thought to be driven by nonuniform tidal heating in its interior. This nonuniform heat is transported to the base of the lithosphere by very vigorous convection in Io's silicate mantle, the form of which is presumably responsible for the distribution of surface features such as volcanoes and mountains. We here present three-dimensional spherical calculations of mantle convection in Io, in order to ascertain the likely form of this convection and the resulting distribution of heat flow at the surface and core-mantle boundary. Different models of tidal dissipation are considered: the endmember scenarios (identified by M. N. Ross and G. Schubert) of dissipation in the entire mantle, or dissipation in a thin (approximately 100-km-thick) asthenosphere, as well as the 'preferred' distribution of M. N. Ross et al. comprising 1/3 mantle and 2/3 asthenosphere heating. The thermal structure of Io's mantle and asthenosphere is found to be strongly dependent on tidal heating mode, as well as whether the mantle-asthenosphere boundary is permeable or impermeable. Results indicate a large-scale flow pattern dominated by the distribution of tidal heating, with superimposed small-scale asthenospheric instabilities that become more pronounced with increasing Rayleigh number. These small-scale instabilities spread out the surface heat flux, resulting in smaller heat flux variations with increasing Rayleigh number. Scaled to Io's Rayleigh number of O(10(exp 12)) variations of order a few percent are expected. This small but significant variation in surface heat flux may be compatible with the observed distributions of volcanic centers and mountains, which appear fairly uniform at first sight but display a discernible distribution when suitably processed. The observed distribution of volcanic centers is similar to the asthenosphere heating distribution, implying that most of the tidal heating in Io occurs in an asthenosphere.

Tackley, Paul J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Contribution of tidal dissipation to lunar thermal history

Possible contributions of tidal heating to the thermal history of the moon are investigated, and conditions under which such heating would have been an important factor in the evolution of the moon are defined as precisely as possible within the bounds of the uncertainties. The tidal dissipation is defined as a function of position in the moon and of the earth-moon separation for a homogeneous incompressible moon. Results for the dissipation are given for eccentricities of zero and 0.055 as well as for the lunar obliquity as determined by the equilibrium Cassini states. Possible orbital resonances which interrupt the assumed simplified expansion of the lunar orbit are considered, along with radial variations in rigidity. The dissipation in a two-layer model moon with a molten inner core and an outer mantle with the moon's present rigidity is determined, and implications of the results for the role of tidal heating in the history of the moon are discussed.

Peale, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Inference of dust opacities for the 1977 Martian great dust storms from Viking Lander 1 pressure data

The tidal heating components for the dusty Martian atmosphere are computed based on dust optical parameters estimated from Viking Lander imaging data, and used to compute the variation of the tidal surface pressure components at the Viking Lander sites as a function of season and the total vertical extinction optical depth of the atmosphere. An atmospheric tidal model is used which is based on the inviscid, hydrostatic primitive equations linearized about a motionless basic state the temperature of which varies only with height, and the profiles of the tidal forcing components are computed using a delta-Eddington approximation to the radiative transfer equations. Comparison of the model results with the observed variations of surface pressure and overhead dust opacity at the Viking Lander 1 site reveal that the dust opacities and optical parameters derived from imaging data are roughly representative of the global dust haze necessary to reproduce the observed surface pressure amplitudes, with the exception of the model-inferred asymmetry parameter, which is smaller during the onset of a great storm. The observed preferential enhancement of the semidiurnal tide with respect to the diurnal tide during dust storm onset is shown to be due primarily to the elevation of the tidal heating source in a very dusty atmosphere.

Zurek, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A massive early atmosphere on Triton

The idea of an early greenhouse atmosphere for Triton is presented and the conditions under which it may have been sustained are quantified. The volatile content of primordial Triton is modeled, and tidal heating rates are assessed to set bounds on the available energy. The atmospheric model formalism is presented, and it is shown how a massive atmosphere could have been raised by modest tidal heating fluxes. The implications of the model atmospheres for the atmospheric escape rates, the chemical evolution, and the cratering record are addressed.

Lunine, Jonathan I.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Tidal dissipiation in Europa - A correction

The possibility that tidal dissipation in a thin ice crust was sufficient to preserve liquid water on Jupiter's satellite Europa was suggested by Cassen et al. (1979). However, their calculation of the tidal heating rate for that situation is in error; for the same parameter values, the actual heating rate would be much less than given in their paper. Thus, their conclusion regarding the possibility that liquid water exists today on Europa is considerably weakened. This paper corrects the calculation of the tidal dissipation rate in a Europan ice crust, and discusses the implications for Europa's thermal history, and clarifies certain aspects of the tidal heating problem.

Cassen, P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Could Ariel have been heated by tidal friction?

For significant dissipation in Ariel, the past existence of an orbital resonance to force and maintain a substantial eccentricity in the orbit is hypothesized. The absolute maximum dissipation rate would be reduced both by the time necessary to establish the resonance in the first place and by a consequently larger minimum Q. The actual heating rate was much less than this maximum so even the existence of a 2/1 resonance may not be sufficient to account for Ariel's smooth sufrace.

Peale, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Astrobiological and Geological Implications of Convective Transport in Icy Outer Planet Satellites

The oceans of large icy outer planet satellites are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system. The goal of our project has been to develop models of ice convection in order to understand convection as an astrobiologically relevant transport mechanism within icy satellites, especially Europa. These models provide valuable constraints on modes of surface deformation and thus the implications of satellite surface geology for astrobiology, and for planetary protection. Over the term of this project, significant progress has been made in three areas: (1) the initiation of convection in large icy satellites, which we find probably requires tidal heating; (2) the relationship of surface features on Europa to internal ice convection, including the likely role of low-melting-temperature impurities; and (3) the effectiveness of convection as an agent of icy satellite surface-ocean material exchange, which seems most plausible if tidal heating, compositional buoyancy, and solid-state convection work in combination. Descriptions of associated publications include: 3 published papers (including contributions to 1 review chapter), 1 manuscript in revision, 1 manuscript in preparation (currently being completed under separate funding), and 1 published popular article. A myriad of conference abstracts have also been published, and only those from the past year are listed.

Pappalardo, Robert T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Tidal Dissipation in Synchronous Satellites

Tidal heating is an important energy source for several solar system bodies, and there is a wide-spread perception that the pattern of surface heat flow is diagnostic of internal structure. We wish to clarify that situation. Our analysis depends upon two important assumptions: First, that heat transport is dominated by conduction. Second, that the body can be modeled by a sequence of spherically symmetric layers, each with a linear visco-elastic rheology. Under these assumptions, surface heat flow patterns in tidally dominated satellites will reflect radially integrated dissipation patterns. For synchronously rotating satellites with zero obliquity, this pattern depends quite strongly on orbital eccentricity but relatively little on purely radial variations in internal structure. The total amount of heat generated within the body does depend sensitively on internal structure, but the spatial pattern is rather insensitive to structure, especially at low orbital eccentricities.

Bills, Bruce G.↗
NASA NTRS2026

The Role of Disruptive Impacts on Ocean Generation and Longevity in Icy Moons

Among icy moons of the outer Solar System, subsurface water oceans and large collisions both seem to be common, but the impact of the latter on the presence and persistence of the former is unclear and has rarely been investigated. Here we interface a smoothed-particle hydrodynamics model to simulate collisions with a thermal-structural evolution model to simulate the evolution of moons pre-collision, post-collision and without a collision. Overall, even such large-scale collisions affect only the ocean thickness or longevity, and the presence or absence of an ocean is affected for only a part of a moon’s history. In reaccreted moons, the ocean survives the impact and becomes much thicker inside larger moons with radius near 1,000 km, whereas an ocean that would otherwise arise inside moons with radius near 500 km is absent because the collision promotes ice–rock differentiation. Our simulations have not yielded an ocean developed post-impact—whether directly via collisional or reaccretional heating or indirectly through tidal heating due to collision-induced orbital changes—in a moon that would otherwise have remained frozen. The ocean-enhancing effect is pronounced only for late disruptive impacts onto large, 1,000-km-class targets, which are unlikely in recent solar system history.

Marc Neveu↗
DOE OSTI2024

Constraints on dark matter from dynamical heating of stars in ultrafaint dwarfs. I. MACHOs and primordial black holes

We place limits on dark matter made up of compact objects significantly heavier than a solar mass, such as MACHOs or primordial black holes (PBHs). In galaxies, the gas of such objects is generally hotter than the gas of stars and will thus heat the gas of stars even through purely gravitational interactions. Ultrafaint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) maximize this effect. Observations of the half-light radius in UFDs thus place limits on MACHO dark matter. We build upon previous constraints with an improved heating rate calculation including both direct and tidal heating, and consideration of the heavier mass range above 10 4 M ⊙ . Additionally we find that MACHOs may lose energy and migrate in to the center of the UFD, increasing the heat transfer to the stars. UFDs can constrain MACHO dark matter with masses between about 10 M ⊙ and 10 8 M ⊙ and these are the strongest constraints over most of this range. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Graham, Peter W. (ORCID:0000000216001601)↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Interior and Orbital Evolution of Charon as Preserved in Its Geologic Record

Pluto and its largest satellite, Charon, currently orbit in a mutually synchronous state; both bodies continuously show the same face to one another. This orbital configuration is a natural end-state for bodies that have undergone tidal dissipation. In order to achieve this state, both bodies would have experienced tidal heating and stress, with the extent of tidal activity controlled by the orbital evolution of Pluto and Charon and by the interior structure and rheology of each body. As the secondary, Charon would have experienced a larger tidal response than Pluto, which may have manifested as observable tectonism. Unfortunately, there are few constraints on the interiors of Pluto and Charon. In addition, the pathway by which Charon came to occupy its present orbital state is uncertain. If Charon's orbit experienced a high-eccentricity phase, as suggested by some orbital evolution models, tidal effects would have likely been more significant. Therefore, we determine the conditions under which Charon could have experienced tidally-driven geologic activity and the extent to which upcoming New Horizons spacecraft observations could be used to constrain Charon's internal structure and orbital evolution. Using plausible interior structure models that include an ocean layer, we find that tidally-driven tensile fractures would likely have formed on Charon if its eccentricity were on the order of 0.01, especially if Charon were orbiting closer to Pluto than at present. Such fractures could display a variety of azimuths near the equator and near the poles, with the range of azimuths in a given region dependent on longitude; east-west-trending fractures should dominate at mid-latitudes. The fracture patterns we predict indicate that Charon's surface geology could provide constraints on the thickness and viscosity of Charon's ice shell at the time of fracture formation.

Tectonics↗
NASA NTRS2021

Spin-Orbit Variations, Greenhouse Gases, and Superhabitable Conditions on Terrestrial Worlds in Multi-Planet Systems

Heller and Armstrong (Astrobiology, 2014) describe a number of ways in which an Earth-like world (“Earth twins” with a tidal heat flux Ft less than 0.04 W/m2, and within their star’s habitable zone) might be “superhabitable,” with surface environments that are more amenable to life than the common benchmark of modern Earth. Over Earth history, several time periods are known from the geologic record that could meet these criteria, providing multiple opportunities to explore known superhabitable and inhabited planetary conditions from an astrophysical perspective.

Earth-like world↗
NASA NTRS2021

Magma Ocean Evolution of the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

Recent observations of the potentially habitable planets TRAPPIST-1 e, f, and g suggest that they possess large water mass fractions of possibly several tens of wt% of water, even though the host star’s activity should drive rapid atmospheric escape. These processes can photolyze water, generating free oxygen and possibly desiccating the planet. After the planets formed, their mantles were likely completely molten with volatiles dissolving and exsolving from the melt. In order to understand these planets and prepare for future observations, the magma ocean phase of these worlds must be understood. To simulate these planets, we have combined existing models of stellar evolution, atmospheric escape, tidal heating, radiogenic heating, magma ocean cooling, planetary radiation, and water-oxygen-iron geochemistry. We present Magm Oc, a versatile magma ocean evolution model, validated against the rocky Super-Earth GJ 1132b and early Earth. We simulate the coupled magma ocean-atmospheric evolution of TRAPPIST-1 e, f, and g for a range of tidal and radiogenic heating rates, as well as initial water contents between 1 and 100 Earth oceans. We also reanalyze the structures of these planets and find they have water mass fractions of 0–0.23, 0.01–0.21, and 0.11–0.24 for planets e, f, and g, respectively. Our model does not make a strong prediction about the water and oxygen content of the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1 e at the time of mantle solidification. In contrast, the model predicts that TRAPPIST-1 f and g would have a thick steam atmosphere with a small amount of oxygen at that stage. For all planets that we investigated, we find that only 3 ́5% of the initial water will be locked in the mantle after the magma ocean solidified.

Exoplanets↗
NASA NTRS1985

Models of planetary structure and evolution: The case of Io

The interior structure of Jupiter's satellite Io is probably layered with a liquid core surrounded by a rigid mantle, a partially molten asthenosphere and a thin rigid lithosphere. The core radius could roughly equal half the planetary radius if the core is mostly FeS and if the mantle's compressibility is close to that of Earth's upper mantle rocks. The lithosphere thickness is controlled by the balance of the heat flux q sub e across the lithosphere with the tidal heating rate H within the lithosphere and the heat flux q; from the interior into the lithosphere. The maximum thickness determined by a balance of q sub e with H is probably much smaller than the lithosphere thickness that maximizes H. Thus, if Io's interior was once melted and if it's resonant orbital state is ancient it will freeze from the inside out. The time scale of internal and latent heat removal in a molten Io is 10 to the eighth power. Io's strong volcanic activity suggests the persistence of a partially molten asthenosphere to the present time.

Spohn, T.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Geological Implications of a Physical Libration on Enceladus

Given the non-spherical shape of Enceladus (Thomas et al., 2007), the satellite will experience gravitational torques that will cause it to physically librate as it orbits Saturn. Physical libration would produce a diurnal oscillation in the longitude of Enceladus tidal bulge which, could have a profound effect on the diurnal stresses experienced by the surface of the satellite. Although Cassini ISS has placed an observational upper limit on Enceladus libration amplitude of F < 1.5deg (Porco et al., 2006), smaller amplitudes can still have geologically significant consequences. Here we present the first detailed description of how physical libration affects tidal stresses and how those stresses then might affect geological processes including crack formation and propagation, south polar eruption activity, and tidal heating. Our goal is to provide a framework for testing the hypothesis that geologic features on Enceladus are produced by tidal stresses from diurnal physical and optical librations of the satellite.

Hurford, T. A.↗