Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus.
After discovering a jet activity near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, the Cassini mission demonstrated the existence of a subsurface water ocean with a unique sampling opportunity through flybys. Diurnal variations in the observed brightness of the plume suggest a tidal control, alth...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39191773 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349917/ |
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ftpubmed:39191773 2024-09-15T18:36:46+00:00 Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. Souček, Ondřej Běhounková, Marie Lanzendörfer, Martin Tobie, Gabriel Choblet, Gaël 2024 Aug 28 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39191773 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349917/ eng eng Nature Publishing Group https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39191773 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349917/ © 2024. The Author(s). Nat Commun ISSN:2041-1723 Volume:15 Issue:1 Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z 2024-08-30T16:03:00Z After discovering a jet activity near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, the Cassini mission demonstrated the existence of a subsurface water ocean with a unique sampling opportunity through flybys. Diurnal variations in the observed brightness of the plume suggest a tidal control, although the existence and timing of two activity maxima seem to contradict stress analysis predictions. Here, we re-interpret the observed plume variability by combining a 3D global model of tidal deformation of the fractured ice shell with a 1D local model of transport processes within south-polar faults. Our model successfully predicts the observed plume's temporal variability by combining two independent vapour transport mechanisms: slip-controlled jet flow and normal-stress-controlled ambient flow. Moreover, it provides a possible explanation for the differences between the vapour and solid emission rates during the diurnal cycle and the observed fractionation of the various icy particle families. Our model prediction could be tested by future JWST observations targeted when Enceladus is at different positions on its orbit and could be used to determine the optimal strategy for plume material sampling by future space missions. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole PubMed Central (PMC) Nature Communications 15 1 |
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After discovering a jet activity near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, the Cassini mission demonstrated the existence of a subsurface water ocean with a unique sampling opportunity through flybys. Diurnal variations in the observed brightness of the plume suggest a tidal control, although the existence and timing of two activity maxima seem to contradict stress analysis predictions. Here, we re-interpret the observed plume variability by combining a 3D global model of tidal deformation of the fractured ice shell with a 1D local model of transport processes within south-polar faults. Our model successfully predicts the observed plume's temporal variability by combining two independent vapour transport mechanisms: slip-controlled jet flow and normal-stress-controlled ambient flow. Moreover, it provides a possible explanation for the differences between the vapour and solid emission rates during the diurnal cycle and the observed fractionation of the various icy particle families. Our model prediction could be tested by future JWST observations targeted when Enceladus is at different positions on its orbit and could be used to determine the optimal strategy for plume material sampling by future space missions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Souček, Ondřej Běhounková, Marie Lanzendörfer, Martin Tobie, Gabriel Choblet, Gaël |
spellingShingle |
Souček, Ondřej Běhounková, Marie Lanzendörfer, Martin Tobie, Gabriel Choblet, Gaël Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
author_facet |
Souček, Ondřej Běhounková, Marie Lanzendörfer, Martin Tobie, Gabriel Choblet, Gaël |
author_sort |
Souček, Ondřej |
title |
Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
title_short |
Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
title_full |
Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
title_fullStr |
Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on Enceladus. |
title_sort |
variations in plume activity reveal the dynamics of water-filled faults on enceladus. |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39191773 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349917/ |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
Nat Commun ISSN:2041-1723 Volume:15 Issue:1 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39191773 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349917/ |
op_rights |
© 2024. The Author(s). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51677-z |
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Nature Communications |
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15 |
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1 |
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1810480478109564928 |