Sarah A. Fagents

Does Europa have a subsurface ocean? Evaluation of the geological evidence

It has been proposed that Jupiters satellite Europa currently possesses a global subsurface ocean of liquid water. Galileo gravity data verify that the satellite is differentiated into an outer H2O layer about 100 km thick but cannot determine the current physical state of this layer (liquid or solid). Here we summarize the geological evidence regarding an extant subsurface ocean, concentrating on Galileo imaging data. We describe and assess nine pertinent lines of geological evidence: impact morphologies, lenticulae, cryovolcanic features, pull-apart bands, chaos, ridges, surface frosts, topography, and global tectonics. An internal ocean would be a simple and comprehensive explanation for a broad range of observations; however, we cannot rule out the possibility that all of the surface morphologies could be due to processes in warm, soft ice with only localized or partial melting. Two different models of impact flux imply very different surface ages for Europa; the model favored here indicates an average age of ∼50 Myr. Searches for evidence of current geological activity on Europa, such as plumes or surface changes, have yielded negative results to date. The current existence of a global subsurface ocean, while attractive in explaining the observations, remains inconclusive. Future geophysical measurements are essential to determine conclusively whether or not there is a liquid water ocean within Europa today.

Icelandic Pseudocraters as Analogs to some Volcanic Cones on Mars

Pseudocraters are rootless vents formed by the interaction of lava flows with surface or near-surface water. This interaction can produce mild explosions and the accumulation of scoria and spatter into small constructs. Pseudocraters in several localities in Iceland were examined in the field and compared to similar appearing features observed on Mars. The Icelandic pseudocrater cones in this study range in size from 6 to 70 m in diameter, have summit craters which range from 2 to 28 m in diameter (many cones lack craters entirely), and have flanks that are either concave-up or convex-up. The size and spacing of Icelandic pseudocraters might be a function of the availability of water, in which larger, closely spaced features result from efficient lava-water interaction, as suggested by the environments in which the features formed. Possible Martian pseudocrater cones in Amazonis Planitia range in diameter from 30 to 180 m and have craters 12 to 80 m in diameter. A numerical model for volcanic explosions was adapted to study the formation of pseudocraters under terrestrial and Martian conditions. The results suggest that explosions forming Martian cones require significantly less water (calculated masses are less by a factor of 4 to 16) than those forming Icelandic pseudocraters, despite their larger sizes. This is attributed to the low gravity and atmospheric pressure in the Mars environment and is consistent with the likely lower abundance of water, which might be present as interstitial ice at shallow depths in the regolith. Locations of potential pseudocraters on Mars at latitudes as low as −8°N, imply the presence of crustal ice stores at the time of their formation.

Erosion by flowing lava: Field evidence

Erosion of substrate materials by melting or mechanical means has been suggested in active lava flows on Earth and other planets. Although there are many references to lava erosion on Earth, unambiguous evidence is rare; geological relationships commonly cited as evidence of downcutting by lava can be explained without recourse to erosion. In order to assess possible erosion by flowing lava we carried out field studies of tube-fed basalt flows, sheet flows of the Columbia River Basalt Province (CRB), and Precambrian komatiites. Unequivocal evidence for thermal erosion (melted dacite substrate) was found at the Cave Basalt lava tube, Mount St. Helens, for which fluid dynamic analysis indicates laminar flow, although erosion was enhanced in areas of locally steep slopes, possibly as a result of localized turbulence. Other lava tubes in our study display strong, but inconclusive, evidence for erosion. Komatiite flows display good evidence for erosion of their substrate, possibly in a turbulent regime, but assessment of the extent of erosion is hampered by limited and disrupted exposures. No evidence for thermal erosion was found in the CRB. Our findings suggest that an erosional origin for planetary sinuous rilles and canali would be favored by high Reynolds number flows (high mass flux, low-viscosity lava, steep slopes) and substrates having a lower melting temperature than the lava or low mechanical strength (e.g., regolith).

A reassessment of the emplacement and erosional potential of turbulent, low-viscosity lavas on the Moon

We have reevaluated the role of thermal erosion by low-viscosity lunar lavas as a mechanism for the formation of the lunar sinuous rules. We have adapted the model of Williams et al. [1998] and used the compositions of an Apollo 12 basalt and a terrestrial komatiitic basalt to investigate the compositional and environmental effects on the flow behavior of low-viscosity lavas on the Moon and the Earth. Our model predicts that lunar lavas could have erupted as turbulent flows that were capable of flowing hundreds of kilometers on a sufficiently flat, unobstructed substrate. These results are consistent with previous studies. Modeling of lavas over a substrate of the same composition shows that thermal erosion rates would have been low (∼10 cm d−1). As a result, long-duration eruptions (approximately months to years) would have been required to incise deep (tens to hundreds of meters) channels. Partial melting and mechanical removal of the substrate, a mechanism suggested by Hulme [1973] to enhance erosion, only slightly increases thermal erosion rates. Other factors, such as higher flow rates or lava superheating, could have produced deep rules by thermal erosion during shorter-duration eruptions. A superheated lunar lava not only would have had a higher erosion rate (∼40 cm d−1) but also would have remained uncrusted for tens of kilometers, which is consistent with the open channel morphology of most sinuous rules. For lunar lavas with large volatile (i.e., vesicle) contents, the presence of vesicles would have tended to increase viscosity at low strain rates, resulting in shorter turbulent flow distances, lower thermal erosion rates, and thus shallower erosion channel depths for given eruption durations.

The search for current geologic activity on Europa

Observational evidence and theoretical arguments suggest that Jupiters satellite Europa could be geologically active and possess an “ocean” of liquid water beneath its surface at the present time. We have searched for evidence of current geologic activity on Europa in the form of active plumes venting material above the surface and by comparison of Voyager and Galileo images to look for any changes on the surface. So far, we have observed no plumes and have detected no definitive changes. The lack of observed activity allows us to estimate a maximum steady state surface alteration rate of 1 km2 y−1 in the regions analyzed, assuming alterations will cover contiguous areas of at least 4 km2 over a period of 20 years. Assuming this as a constant, globally uniform resurfacing rate leads to a minimum average surface age of 30 million years. We also suggest that the lack of obvious circular albedo patterns on the surface due to plumes, coupled with the presence of bright-rayed craters such as Pwyll and the predicted sputtering erosion rate, implies that no large-scale plume activity has taken place over at least the last few thousand years. We thus conclude that if Europas surface is currently active, any changes must be relatively small in spatial scale or episodic in nature rather than continuous. To detect potential small-scale surface changes, we need high-resolution comparisons between the Galileo data and future Europa Orbiter images.

The transition from explosive to effusive eruptive regime: The example of the 1912 Novarupta eruption, Alaska

The shift from explosive to effusive silicic volcanism seen in many historical eruptions reflects a change in the style of degassing of erupted magma. This paper focuses on such a transition during the largest eruption of the twentieth century, the 1912 eruption of Novarupta. The transition is recorded in a dacite block bed, which covers an elliptical area of 4 km 2 around the vent. Approximately 700 studied blocks fall into four main lithologic categories: (1) pumiceous, (2) dense, (3) flow-banded dacites, and (4) welded breccias. Textural analyses of the blocks indicate portions of the melt underwent highly variable degrees of outgassing. Vesicle populations show features characteristic of bubble coalescence and collapse. A decrease in measured vesicularity and increased evidence for bubble collapse compared with pumice from earlier Plinian episodes mark the transition from closed- to open-system degassing. Block morphology and textures strongly suggest the magma was first erupted as a relatively gas-rich lava dome/plug, but incomplete out-gassing led to explosive disruption. Heterogeneous degassing of ascending magma began in Plinian Episode III and resulted in instability during Episode IV dome growth and a (series of) Vulcanian explosion(s). Modeling of the dynamics of explosion initiation and ejecta dispersal indicates that a significant concentration in gas is required to produce the explosions responsible for the observed block field dispersal. The amount of gas available in the hot pumiceous dome material appears to have been inadequate to drive the explosion(s); therefore, external water most likely contributed to the destruction.

Vesiculation of high fountaining Hawaiian eruptions: episodes 15 and 16 of 1959 Kīlauea Iki

The 1959 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano produced the highest recorded Hawaiian fountain in Hawai‘i. Quantitative analysis of closely spaced samples from the final two high-fountaining episodes of the eruption result in a fine-scale textural study of pyroclasts and provide a record of postfragmentation processes. As clast vesicularity increases, the vesicle number density decreases and vesicle morphology shifts from small and round to larger and more irregular. The shift in microtexture corresponds to greater degrees of postfragmentation expansion of clasts with higher vesicularity. We suggest the range of clast morphologies in the deposit is related to thermal zonation within a Hawaiian fountain where the highest vesicularity clasts traveled in the center and lowest traveled along the margins. Vesicle number densities are greatest in the highest fountaining episode and therefore scale with intensity of activity. Major element chemical analyses and fasciculate crystal textures indicate microlite-rich zones within individual clasts are portions of recycled lava lake material that were incorporated into newly vesiculating primary melt.

Lunar palaeoregolith deposits as recorders of the galactic environment of the solar system and implications for astrobiology

One of the principal scientific reasons for wanting to resume in situ exploration of the lunar surface is to gain access to the record it contains of early Solar System history. Part of this record will pertain to the galactic environment of the Solar System, including variations in the cosmic ray flux, energetic galactic events (e.g., supernovae and/or gamma-ray bursts), and passages of the Solar System through dense interstellar clouds. Much of this record is of astrobiological interest as these processes may have affected the evolution of life on Earth, and perhaps other Solar System bodies. We argue that this galactic record, as for that of more local Solar System processes also of astrobiological interest, will be best preserved in ancient, buried regolith (‘palaeoregolith’) deposits in the lunar near sub-surface. Locating and sampling such deposits will be an important objective of future lunar exploration activities.

Modeling volcanic processes : the physics and mathematics of volcanism

List of contributors 1. Introduction Sarah Fagents, Tracy Gregg and Rosaly Lopes 2. Magma chamber dynamics and thermodynamics Josef Dufek, Chris Huber and Leif Karlstrom 3. The dynamics of dike propagation Steve Tait and Benoit Taisne 4. Dynamics of magma ascent in the volcanic conduit Helge Gonnermann and Michael Manga 5. Lava flows Andrew Harris 6. Unsteady explosive activity: Strombolian eruptions Mike James, Steve Lane and Bruce Houghton 7. Unsteady explosive activity: Vulcanian eruptions Amanda Clarke 8. Sustained explosive activity: volcanic eruption columns and Hawaiian fountains Andrew Woods 9. Modeling tephra sedimentation from volcanic plumes Costanza Bonadonna and Antonio Costa 10. Pyroclastic density currents Olivier Roche, Jeremy Phillips and Karim Kelfoun 11. Magma-water interactions Ken Wohletz, Bernd Zimanowski and Ralf Buttner 12. Deep sea eruptions Tracy Gregg 13. Magma-ice interactions Lionel Wilson, John Smellie and James Head 14. Modeling lahar behavior and hazards Vernon Manville, Jon Major and Sarah Fagents 15. Introduction to quantitative volcano seismology: fluid-driven sources Bernard Chouet 16. Volcano acoustics Milton Garces, David Fee and Robin Matoza 17. Planetary volcanism Rosaly Lopes, Sarah Fagents, Karl Mitchell and Tracy Gregg Index.

Volcanism on the Red Planet: Mars

Of all of the planets in the solar system, Mars is the most Earth-like in its geologic characteristics. Like Earth, it has been subjected to exogenic processes, such as impact cratering and erosion by wind and water, as well as endogenic processes, including tectonic deformation of the crust and volcanism. The effects of these processes are amply demonstrated by the great variety of surface features, including impact craters, landslides, former river channels, sand dunes, and the largest volcanoes in the solar system.