Reading Between the Lines: Using Fractures to Understand Icy Satellite Evolution
When
Where
Dr. Alyssa Rhoden
Assistant Professor
Arizona State University
The satellites of the outer solar system record diverse and complex geologic histories. Gravitational interactions between the satellites and their host planets provide energy that maintains present-day liquid water oceans, causes pervasive tectonism, and powers active plumes. Tidal heating and tidal stress, governed by the orbits and rotation states of these satellites, offer an entirely different way of maintaining geologic activity, and creating potentially habitable worlds, than we observe in the inner solar system. I will discuss the geologic processes operating on Europa and the secrets revealed by its tectonic record. I will then provide an overview of the next big science questions that can be addressed with the tidal-tectonic approach, including the formation of the Saturnian satellites and the incredible activity on Enceladus.
Host: Dr. Alfred McEwen