Related papers: In icy ocean worlds, size matters!
As a long-term energy source, tidal heating in subsurface oceans of icy satellites can influence their thermal, rotational, and orbital evolution, and the sustainability of oceans. We present a new theoretical treatment for tidal heating in…
Previous studies that have considered the ocean circulation on Enceladus have generally assumed the salinity to be Earth-like. However, according to observations and geochemical constraints, the salinity of Enceladus' ocean is likely to be…
Jupiter's icy moons are believed to host subsurface liquid oceans, and among them, Europa stands out as one of the most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life. Yet, the processes driving oceanic flows beneath its ice shell, as well…
Liquid-water oceans likely underlie the ice shells of Europa and Enceladus, but ocean properties are challenging to measure due to the overlying ice. Here, we consider gravity-driven flow of the ice shells of icy satellites and relate this…
Europa's icy surface likely overlies an ocean, but the ice thickness is not known. Here we model the temporal growth of a Europan shell of pure ice subject to varying ice-ocean heat fluxes, ice rheologies, and internal heating rates. Both…
The marginal ice zone is the dynamic interface between the open ocean and consolidated inner pack ice. Surface gravity waves regulate marginal ice zone extent and properties, and, hence, fluxes between the atmosphere and ocean, and ice…
The role of water ice in the solar system is reviewed from a fluid-dynamical point of view. On Earth and Mars, water ice forms ice sheets, ice caps and glaciers at the surface, which show glacial flow under their own weight. By contrast,…
A theoretical model is proposed to explain the roughness characteristics of an ice surface grown from a gravity and wind-driven supercooled water film flowing over an inclined plane. The effects of the water supply rate, plane slope and air…
Variation in the balance of forces that drive and resist tectonic plate motions allows small terrestrial planet to cooler slower than larger ones. Given that interior cooling affects surface environment, through volcanic/geologic activity,…
Ice-covered ocean worlds possess diverse energy sources and associated mechanisms that are capable of driving significant seismic activity, but to date no measurements of their seismic activity have been obtained. Such investigations could…
In the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, water ice is a dominant component of planetary bodies, and most solid objects in this region are classified as icy bodies. Icy bodies display a remarkable diversity of geological, geophysical, and…
In a number of geophysical or planetological settings (Earth's inner core, a silicate mantle crystallizing from a magma ocean, or an ice shell surrounding a deep water ocean) a convecting crystalline layer is in contact with a layer of its…
Motivated by the important role of the ocean in the Earth climate system, here we investigate possible scenarios of ocean circulations on exoplanets using a one-layer shallow water ocean model. Specifically, we investigate how planetary…
Enceladus's gravity and shape have been explained in terms of a thick isostatic ice shell floating on a global ocean, in contradiction of the thin shell implied by librations. Here we propose a new isostatic model minimizing crustal…
Geophysical measurements can reveal the structure of icy ocean worlds and cycling of volatiles. The associated density, temperature, sound speed, and electrical conductivity of such worlds thus characterizes their habitability. To explore…
The geologic activity at Enceladus's south pole remains unexplained, though tidal deformations are probably the ultimate cause. Recent gravity and libration data indicate that Enceladus's icy crust floats on a global ocean, is rather thin,…
Eddies within the meso/submeso-scale range are prevalent throughout the Arctic Ocean, playing a pivotal role in regulating freshwater budget, heat transfer, and sea ice transport. While observations have suggested a strong connection…
A number of synchronous moons are thought to harbor water oceans beneath their outer ice shells. A subsurface ocean frictionally decouples the shell from the interior. This has led to proposals that a weak tidal or atmospheric torque might…
Convective flows coupled with solidification or melting in water bodies play a major role in shaping geophysical landscapes. Particularly in relation to the global climate warming scenario, it is essential to be able to accurately quantify…
A solution method is developed for a model of ice shelf vibrations in response to ocean waves, in which the ice shelf thickness and seabed beneath the ice shelf vary over distance, and the ice shelf/sub--ice--shelf cavity are connected to…