Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain
International audience Saturn’s moon Enceladus is an active world. In 2005, the Cassini spacecraft witnessed for the first time water-rich jets venting from four anomalously warm fractures (called sulci) near its south pole (1,2). Since then, several observations have provided evidence that the sour...
Published in: | Nature Astronomy |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2017
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Online Access: | https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 |
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ftmeteofrance:oai:HAL:insu-01499557v1 |
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Open Polar |
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Météo-France: HAL |
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English |
topic |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] [PHYS]Physics [physics] [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] [PHYS]Physics [physics] [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] Le Gall, Alice Leyrat, Cédric Janssen, Michael A. Choblet, Gael Tobie, G. Bourgeois, Olivier Lucas, Antoine Sotin, Christophe Howett, C. Kirk, Randolph Lorenz, R. D. West, Richard D. Stolzenbach, Aurélien Massé, M. Hayes, A. H. Bonnefoy, Léa Veyssière, Gaëlle Paganelli, F. Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
topic_facet |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] [PHYS]Physics [physics] [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] |
description |
International audience Saturn’s moon Enceladus is an active world. In 2005, the Cassini spacecraft witnessed for the first time water-rich jets venting from four anomalously warm fractures (called sulci) near its south pole (1,2). Since then, several observations have provided evidence that the source of the material ejected from Enceladus is a large underground ocean, the depth of which is still debated (3,4,5,6). Here, we report on the first and only opportunity that Cassini’s RADAR instrument (7,8) had to observe Enceladus’s south polar terrain closely, targeting an area a few tens of kilometres north of the active sulci. Detailed analysis of the microwave radiometry observations highlights the ongoing activity of the moon. The instrument recorded the microwave thermal emission, revealing a warm subsurface region with prominent thermal anomalies that had not been identified before. These anomalies coincide with large fractures, similar or structurally related to the sulci. The observations imply the presence of a broadly distributed heat production and transport system below the south polar terrain with ‘plate-like’ features and suggest that a liquid reservoir could exist at a depth of only a few kilometres under the ice shell at the south pole. The detection of a possible dormant sulcus further suggests episodic geological activity. |
author2 |
PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG) Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST) Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Southwest Research Institute Boulder (SwRI) Astrogeology Science Center Flagstaff United States Geological Survey Reston (USGS) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) Center for Radiophysics and Space Research Ithaca (CRSR) Cornell University New York Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Tucson (LPL) University of Arizona Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) American Public University System (APUS) ANR-10-LABX-0023,UnivEarthS,Earth - Planets - Universe: observation, modeling, transfer(2010) ANR-11-IDEX-0005,USPC,Université Sorbonne Paris Cité(2011) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Le Gall, Alice Leyrat, Cédric Janssen, Michael A. Choblet, Gael Tobie, G. Bourgeois, Olivier Lucas, Antoine Sotin, Christophe Howett, C. Kirk, Randolph Lorenz, R. D. West, Richard D. Stolzenbach, Aurélien Massé, M. Hayes, A. H. Bonnefoy, Léa Veyssière, Gaëlle Paganelli, F. |
author_facet |
Le Gall, Alice Leyrat, Cédric Janssen, Michael A. Choblet, Gael Tobie, G. Bourgeois, Olivier Lucas, Antoine Sotin, Christophe Howett, C. Kirk, Randolph Lorenz, R. D. West, Richard D. Stolzenbach, Aurélien Massé, M. Hayes, A. H. Bonnefoy, Léa Veyssière, Gaëlle Paganelli, F. |
author_sort |
Le Gall, Alice |
title |
Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
title_short |
Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
title_full |
Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
title_fullStr |
Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain |
title_sort |
thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of enceladus’s south polar terrain |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
EISSN: 2397-3366 Nature Astronomy https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 Nature Astronomy, 2017, 1, pp.0063. ⟨10.1038/s41550-017-0063⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 insu-01499557 https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 doi:10.1038/s41550-017-0063 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 |
container_title |
Nature Astronomy |
container_volume |
1 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1799466923716509696 |
spelling |
ftmeteofrance:oai:HAL:insu-01499557v1 2024-05-19T07:48:37+00:00 Thermally anomalous features in the subsurface of Enceladus’s south polar terrain Le Gall, Alice Leyrat, Cédric Janssen, Michael A. Choblet, Gael Tobie, G. Bourgeois, Olivier Lucas, Antoine Sotin, Christophe Howett, C. Kirk, Randolph Lorenz, R. D. West, Richard D. Stolzenbach, Aurélien Massé, M. Hayes, A. H. Bonnefoy, Léa Veyssière, Gaëlle Paganelli, F. PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG) Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST) Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Southwest Research Institute Boulder (SwRI) Astrogeology Science Center Flagstaff United States Geological Survey Reston (USGS) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) Center for Radiophysics and Space Research Ithaca (CRSR) Cornell University New York Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Tucson (LPL) University of Arizona Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) American Public University System (APUS) ANR-10-LABX-0023,UnivEarthS,Earth - Planets - Universe: observation, modeling, transfer(2010) ANR-11-IDEX-0005,USPC,Université Sorbonne Paris Cité(2011) 2017 https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 en eng HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 insu-01499557 https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 doi:10.1038/s41550-017-0063 EISSN: 2397-3366 Nature Astronomy https://insu.hal.science/insu-01499557 Nature Astronomy, 2017, 1, pp.0063. ⟨10.1038/s41550-017-0063⟩ [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] [PHYS]Physics [physics] [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2017 ftmeteofrance https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0063 2024-04-25T00:55:57Z International audience Saturn’s moon Enceladus is an active world. In 2005, the Cassini spacecraft witnessed for the first time water-rich jets venting from four anomalously warm fractures (called sulci) near its south pole (1,2). Since then, several observations have provided evidence that the source of the material ejected from Enceladus is a large underground ocean, the depth of which is still debated (3,4,5,6). Here, we report on the first and only opportunity that Cassini’s RADAR instrument (7,8) had to observe Enceladus’s south polar terrain closely, targeting an area a few tens of kilometres north of the active sulci. Detailed analysis of the microwave radiometry observations highlights the ongoing activity of the moon. The instrument recorded the microwave thermal emission, revealing a warm subsurface region with prominent thermal anomalies that had not been identified before. These anomalies coincide with large fractures, similar or structurally related to the sulci. The observations imply the presence of a broadly distributed heat production and transport system below the south polar terrain with ‘plate-like’ features and suggest that a liquid reservoir could exist at a depth of only a few kilometres under the ice shell at the south pole. The detection of a possible dormant sulcus further suggests episodic geological activity. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole Météo-France: HAL Nature Astronomy 1 4 |