New Calculations of Temperatures and Volatile Migration on Small Bodies

Abstract:

We have a new tool for calculating volatile transport and the 3-D
temperature field (latitude, longitude, and depth), called VT3D. This
tool is orders of magnitude faster than comparable models, opening up
opportunities for large parameter-space searches, or for studies on a
range of timescales (e.g., diurnal/seasonal). VT3D (i) uses initial
conditions that improve convergence, (ii) uses an expedient method for
handling the transition between global and non-global atmospheres,
(iii) includes local conservation of energy and global conservation of
mass to partition energy between heating, conduction, and sublimation
or condensation, (iv) uses Crank-Nicholson time-stepping algorithms
that ensure stability while allowing larger timesteps. I summarize
the algorithms and implementation of VT3D, and its application to
Pluto and other small objects in the outer solar system.