P11D-06
Effect of Ice-Shell Thickness Variations on the Tidal Deformation of Enceladus
Monday, 14 December 2015: 09:08
2009 (Moscone West)
Ondrej Cadek, Charles University, Prague, 180, Czech Republic, Gael Choblet, LPGN Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Nantes Cedex 03, France, Marie Behounkova, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, Gabriel Tobie, University of Nantes, Nantes, France, Tomáš Kozubek, VSB-Technical University, Ostrava, Czech Republic and IT4Innovation Team Ostrava
Abstract:
Recent analysis of Enceladus’s gravity and topography has suggested that the thickness of the ice shell significantly varies laterally - from 30-40 km in the south polar region to 60 km elsewhere. These variations may influence the activity of the geysers and increase the tidal heat production in regions where the ice shell is thinned. Using a model including a regional or global subsurface ocean and Maxwell viscoelasticity, we investigate the impact of these variations on the tidal deformation of the moon and its heat production. For that purpose, we use different numerical approaches - finite elements, local application of 1d spectral method, and a generalized spectral method. Results obtained with these three approaches for various models of ice-shell thickness variations are presented and compared. Implications of a reduced ice shell thickness for the south polar terrain activity are discussed.
