Brittle ice shell thickness of Enceladus from fracture distribution analysis
Journal
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Abstract
We determine the depth of fracture penetration in multiple regions of Enceladus by performing self-similar clustering and length distribution analysis of fractures. The statistical characterization of fault-population attribute, such as length and clustering, provide a productive avenue for exploring deformation rate, stress transmission mode, rheology of the medium, and mechanical stratification of the ice satellite. Through this analysis, we estimate the depth of the mechanical discontinuity of Enceladus' ice shell that is the depth to which fractures penetrate the brittle ice layer above the ductile one. In this work, we find that for the South Polar Terrain (SPT), the brittle ice shell interested by fracture penetration is about 30 km and corresponds to the total depth of the ice shell because the SPT has a very high thermal gradient and, hence, fractures likely reach the ocean-ice interface. In the other regions analyzed, the depth of fracture penetration increases from 31 to 70 km from the South Pole to northern regions up to 75°.
Volume
297
Start page
252
Issn Identifier
0019-1035
Ads BibCode
2017Icar..297..252L
Rights
open.access
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
Lucchetti_Enceladus_paper.pdf
Description
preprint
Size
3.41 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
70ab1bbb9f7271cc432723582baf821e
Loading...
Name
Lucchetti_pubblicazione2.pdf
Description
[Administrators only]
Size
934.18 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3736c573b86c038b07c027886537288d