Europa PR, A couple of new posts to the Photojournal |
Europa PR, A couple of new posts to the Photojournal |
Dec 20 2007, 09:26 PM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Thick or Thin Ice Shell on Europa?
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10131 Europa Tide Movie http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10149 I'm not sure that there is any new science involved. Seems to me like some nice eye candy for the purpose of getting Europa into the collective consciousness before the next flagship is chosen. |
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Jan 11 2008, 04:09 AM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1018 Joined: 29-November 05 From: Seattle, WA, USA Member No.: 590 |
Any thoughts as to what the minimum thickness might be? After all, Earth's crust is pretty thick too, but it does have its thin spots.
--Greg |
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Jan 12 2008, 07:57 AM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Ice will not sustain major deviations in thickness for long spans of time, but I think the critical issue is if it can sustain them for a short time. Either a rift or a hot spot (which could mean a plume of slushy ice, or actually water welling up to or near the surface). I think the whole ballgame with Europa is to see if there's a place like that. If so, a submarine is possible. If not, we're stuck with the top few meters to explore.
I think the dark lineation along the triple bands is an indication that water gushed out along a huge number of tremendously long faults. Given the surface age of Europa, that translates into a considerable amount of active fault per year. The trick is whether you get about that much fault all the time, or if you have none at a typical moment, then occasionally much more activity takes place. But we don't need an actual gusher -- just a place where the 20 km depth has been considerably reduced. |
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