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Updated: Dec 10, 2025
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Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System
Published on: June 5, 2014
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The microstructural evolution of water ice in the solar system through sintering
J L Molaro1,2, M Choukroun2, C B Phillips2
1Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets
|September 3, 2020
Summary
Ice sintering, a key process in planetary science, modifies icy surfaces over geologic time. This study quantifies water ice sintering, finding it sensitive to temperature and grain size, impacting planetary crust formation.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Geophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Ice sintering is a metamorphic process crucial for microstructural evolution of icy aggregates.
- It influences properties like strength, porosity, and thermal conductivity of planetary ices.
- Understanding sintering rates is vital for modeling icy planetary surface evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the Swinkels and Ashby (1981) model for quantifying water ice sintering timescales.
- To compare model predictions with observational data of ice sintering.
- To estimate ice modification and crust formation on planetary surfaces.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Swinkels and Ashby (1981) model for ice sintering.
- Compared model-predicted neck growth rates with new and historical experimental observations.
- Performed first-order estimates of sintering timescales on planetary surfaces.
Main Results:
- Model predictions show agreement with some observational studies at the order of magnitude level.
- Ice neck growth can occur significantly over geologic timescales, even in the outer solar system.
- Densification requires longer timescales, potentially forming cohesive, porous crusts.
Conclusions:
- Ice sintering rates are highly sensitive to temperature and grain size.
- Microstructural evolution of ices varies spatially and across celestial bodies.
- Further laboratory studies are needed to refine models of complex grain growth and mass redistribution.
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