Cryomineralogy, like mineralogy only cooler
Abstract
Ocean worlds have solid surfaces, and although water ice dominates many of these surfaces it is not the only material there. Moreover, studies of the minerals that form on these surfaces are clues as to what may lie below. Though we cannot yet reach these icy satellites and return a sample to Earth for investigation, we can recreate their simple compositions and extreme conditions in the laboratory. In contrast to terrestrial mineralogy, which has been subject to 100 years of laboratory measurements, we are only beginning to shed light on the range of crystal structures that would be formed on the ocean worlds. Through laboratory studies cryominerals have been shown to be just as diverse as silicates in the structures and physical properties that they exhibit [1]. From the framework of the pure hexagonal-ice structure, to the cages formed by gas hydrates to the plastic solids of methane and nitrogen that form on Pluto. A new and particularly rich area of discovery recently has been the variety of minerals that are likely to be formed on Saturn's moon Titan [2] [3] [4]. This contribution will highlight recent developments in cryomineralogy, but also point to where much more laboratory work is needed. 1. Fortes, A.D. and M. Choukroun, Phase Behaviour of Ices and Hydrates. Space Science Reviews, 2010. 153(1-4): p. 185-218. 2. Maynard-Casely, H.E., et al., Prospects for mineralogy on Titan. American Mineralogist, 2018. 103(3): p. 343-349. 3. Cable, M.L., et al., The Acetylene-Ammonia Co-crystal on Titan. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 2018. 4. Cable, M.L., et al., A Co-Crystal between Acetylene and Butane: A Potentially Ubiquitous Molecular Mineral on Titan. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 2019. 3(12): p. 2808-2815.
- Publication:
-
43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
- Pub Date:
- January 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021cosp...43E.489M