Frozen Fractals All Around: Aggregate Particles in the Plumes of Enceladus

Abstract:

Estimates of the total particulate mass of the plumes of Enceladus are important to constrain theories of particle formation and transport at the surface and interior of the satellite. We revisit the calculations of Ingersoll & Ewald (2011), who estimated the particulate mass of the Enceladus plumes from strongly forward scattered light in Cassini ISS images. We model the plume as a combination of spherical particles and irregular aggregates resulting from the coagulation of spherical monomers, the latter of which allows for plumes of lower particulate mass. Though a continuum of solutions are permitted by the model, the best fits to the ISS data consist either of low mass plumes composed entirely of small aggregates or high mass plumes composed of large aggregates and spheres. The high mass plumes can be divided into a population of large aggregates with total particulate mass of 116 ± 12 × 10³ kg, and a mixed population of spheres and aggregates consisting of a few large monomers that has a total plume particulate mass of 166 ± 42 × 10³ kg, consistent with the results of Ingersoll & Ewald (2011). Meanwhile, the low particulate mass aggregate plumes have masses of 25 ± 4 × 10³ kg, leading to a solid to vapor mass ratio of 0.07 ± 0.01 for the plume. If indeed the plumes are made of such aggregates, then a vapor-based origin for the plume particles is possible. The process of aggregate formation by the coagulation of monomers, which depends on the bulk monomer number density inside the plume vents, requires a total plume vent cross sectional area of at most 1800 m² to allow for the aggregates to form before the monomers are ejected into space. Differentiation between the high mass and low mass solutions may be possible if forward scattering observations are taken at scattering angles <2°, or else an independent plume particulate mass measurement becomes available.