Ocean tides heat Enceladus

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dc.contributor.authorTyler, R. H.
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-26T20:03:11Z
dc.date.available2023-07-26T20:03:11Z
dc.date.issued2009-08-08
dc.description.abstractWith a young, highly reflective surface and vigorous geological activity, Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus has been one of the most mysterious planetary bodies in the solar system. Recent observations from the Cassini spacecraft show vast plumes of vapor erupting from geysers near the south pole, and inferred heat fluxes of about 100 mW/m² for the same region have helped consolidate the essential enigma of Enceladus: there must be a relatively large and unidentified source of heat in the tiny moon. Here we present a case for heating from dissipation by tidal flow in an ice-covered ocean. We show that if the spin axis of Enceladus is tilted with respect to its orbital plane by at least 0.05 degree then strong tidal flow will be generated with enough dissipative heating to explain the observed heat flux. In an alternative case of a shallow (10 km or less) ocean, comparable flow velocities and heating may be obtained by eccentricity tidal forces.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was conducted with support from the NASA Outer Planets program.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2009GL038300en_US
dc.format.extent5 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2hpax-wqcv
dc.identifier.citationTyler, R. H. (2009), Ocean tides heat Enceladus, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15205, doi:10.1029/2009GL038300.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038300
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/28869
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.en_US
dc.titleOcean tides heat Enceladusen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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