ヨーロッパの浅い地下水の上に"カオス地形"が活発に形成されている
B E Schmidt1, D D Blankenship, G W Patterson
1Institute for Geophysics, John A. & Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, J. J. Pickle Research Campus, Building 196 (ROC), 10100 Burnet Road (R2200), Austin, Texas 78758-4445, USA. britneys@ig.utexas.edu
Nature
|November 18, 2011
まとめ
ヨーロッパのユニークな混沌とした地形は,氷と相互作用する浅い地下水のレンズから形成される可能性が高い. これらの氷と水の相互作用は,木星の月で観察された多様な地形とドームを説明します.
科学分野:
- 惑星科学 惑星科学
- 地質学 地質学 地質学
- オーシャン・ワールド オーシャン・ワールド
背景:
- 木星の氷の月であるユーロパは,複雑な氷の殻の下に,地表の下の液体の水の海を持っています.
- 混沌とした地形は,ヨーロッパでユニークな準円形の特徴であり,その形成と氷の殻の厚さに関する地質学的パズルを提示します.
- 既存のモデルは,コナマラ・カオスのような混沌とした地形内の高架な地形とマトリックスドームを説明できない.
研究 の 目的:
- ヨーロッパの混沌とした地形の形成メカニズムを調査する.
- エウロパの熱状態と氷と水の相互作用が,地表の特徴を形作る上で果たす役割を決定する.
- カオス地形の形態学と地形を説明する新しいモデルを提案する.
主な方法:
- ヨーロッパのアーカイブデータの分析.
- 地球の亜氷期火山と氷棚で観察されたプロセスを用いて,比較惑星学の応用.
- ヨーロッパの氷殻内の氷と水の相互作用の熱力学および地質学的モデリング.
主要な成果:
- 混沌とした地形は,浅い液体の水のレンズの上に形成され,氷の殻の内部ではわずか3キロの深さです.
- 氷と水の相互作用と凍結過程は,これらの地形の多様な形態と地形の主要な原動力として特定されています.
- Thera Maculaの沈没した地形は,大規模な地下水体によって引き起こされる活発な浮上を示唆しています.
結論:
- ヨーロッパのカオス地形の形成は,浅い地下水レンズと,その後の氷水相互作用に起因する.
- この新しいモデルは,観測された高層の特徴,マトリックスドーム,そして多様な地形について,統一された説明を提供します.
- ヨーロッパの表面は,これらのプロセスによって活発に進化しており,その内部海洋によって引き起こされる地質学的活動が継続していることを示している.
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