A Potential Mushy Source for the Geysers of Enceladus and Other Icy Satellites

Abstract Enceladus is a target for astrobiology due to the plume ejecta measured by the Cassini spacecraft and the inferred subsurface ocean that could be the source of the geysers. Here we explore an alternative where shear heating along tiger stripe fractures produces partial melting in the ice shell and interstitial convection allows fluid to be ejected as geysers. We use an idealized two‐dimensional reactive transport model to simulate a mushy region generated by an upper‐bound estimate for the localized shear heating rate. We find that the rate of internal melting could potentially match the observed eruption rate. The composition of the liquid brine would be, however, distinct from that of the ocean, due to fractionation during partial melting. This shear heating mechanism for geyser formation could apply to Enceladus and other icy moons and has implications for our understanding of the geophysical processes and astrobiological potential of icy satellites.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-02-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl111929
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.08

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article

A Potential Mushy Source for the Geysers of Enceladus and Other Icy Satellites

J Parkinson, Jacob Buffo, Tara C. Tomlinson, Geoffrey M. Vasil et al.
7 citations
Geophysical Research Letters
Astro and Planetary Science
8.08
article

A Potential Mushy Source for the Geysers of Enceladus and Other Icy Satellites

J Parkinson, Jacob Buffo, Tara C. Tomlinson, Geoffrey M. Vasil, Mark G. Fox‐Powell, Andrew Wells, Colin Meyer, Samuel Boury, F. Nimmo
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Abstract Enceladus is a target for astrobiology due to the plume ejecta measured by the Cassini spacecraft and the inferred subsurface ocean that could be the source of the geysers. Here we explore an alternative where shear heating along tiger stripe fractures produces partial melting in the ice shell and interstitial convection allows fluid to be ejected as geysers. We use an idealized two‐dimensional reactive transport model to simulate a mushy region generated by an upper‐bound estimate for the localized shear heating rate. We find that the rate of internal melting could potentially match the observed eruption rate. The composition of the liquid brine would be, however, distinct from that of the ocean, due to fractionation during partial melting. This shear heating mechanism for geyser formation could apply to Enceladus and other icy moons and has implications for our understanding of the geophysical processes and astrobiological potential of icy satellites.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(3)
Dartmouth College (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), The Open University (GB), Université Paris Cité (FR), University of Oxford (GB), University of Edinburgh (GB)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dartmouth College, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Army Research Office
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Astro and Planetary Science
8.08
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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