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Detailed Reference Information |
Ruiz, J. and Tejero, R. (2000). Heat flows through the ice lithosphere of Europa. Journal of Geophysical Research 105: doi: 10.1029/1999JE001228. issn: 0148-0227. |
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Some of the geological features on the surface of Europa's ice shell suggest the existence of a brittle lithosphere that in some regions is no more than 2 km thick. The surface heat flow needed to put the brittle-ductile transition in ice at a depth of 2 km is at least ~100 mW m-2, much higher than predicted by tidal heating models for a purely conductive ice shell. A possible explanation lies in the probable existence of a convective layer beneath the brittle lithosphere, which, owing to tidal dissipation in warm ice, could contribute to higher heat flows. If a convective subsurface layer and grain size dependent flow behavior of ice are admitted, the grain size at brittle-ductile transition depth cannot be >1 mm, which is consistent with the required value for the onset of convection in an ice shell thinner than 20 km. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Physical Properties of Rocks, Fracture and flow, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Heat flow, Planetology, Solar System Objects, Jovian satellites |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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