Induced Currents in Subsurface Oceans at the Uranian Satellites Oberon and Titania

Abstract:

In the jovian system, the tilted magnetic dipole of Jupiter generates time-variable fields near the moons at their synodic rotation periods. The subsurface ocean at Jupiter’s moon Europa was detected from the magnetic signature of currents induced in the conducting ocean by this variable external field. In the uranian system, episodes of intense tidal heating is expected to have produced internal melting in some of the icy natural satellites. The two largest satellites, Titania and Oberon, may still have liquid water oceans beneath their outer ice shells. The magnetic field of Uranus is more strongly tilted than that of Jupiter and so we might expect a clear induction signal from these oceans.

In this poster we use published models for the interiors of Titania and Oberon to model the induction signal from subsurface oceans at these satellites. From this modelling we explore the measurement requirements to detect these oceans from a future orbiting spacecraft. We also consider the nature of the magnetospheric interaction with the moons and how associated current systems would affect the signal from the induced currents.