Long-period deformations in Enceladus's ice shell
Abstract
As Enceladus orbits Saturn on a slightly eccentric orbit, it is periodically deformed due to daily changes in their mutual distance. The deformation and stress can result in tidal dissipation and very likely also modulate the observed geysering activity near its south pole. Additional enhancement of stress and deformation magnitudes originates in the physical libration. On decadal time scales, the deformation and stress in the shell are influenced by long-period libration and eccentricity variations. By means of numerical simulations, we investigate the decadal changes in the stress and deformation in the ice shell of Enceladus, and we discuss their implication on the variation in the plume activity depending on the rheological parameters of the shell.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018EPSC...12..864B