2025/11/19 by Ana de Dios-Cubillas, I. López, O. Prieto‐Ballesteros · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Planetary Science and Exploration
paper · doi:10.1080/17445647.2025.2572767
openalex created_date 2025/11/19 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
ESA’s JUICE and NASA’s Europa Clipper missions aim to uncover the processes behind chaotic terrain formation. To contribute to this understanding, we mapped chaos units and classified their internal structure into four geomorphological facies (i-iv), representing a gradient from greater disruption to increasing fractional melting of the crust, based on the block-to-matrix ratio and the fracture state determined by the degree of block displacement. No global-scale disruption-fractional melting gradients were observed. Small single-facies chaos units predominated, with half exhibiting intermediate to high fractional melting (facies iii and iv). Conversely, larger multifacies chaos units, concentrated at low latitudes, showed an extensive development of intermediate disruption facies ii, intersected and delimited by higher melt-fraction gradient areas of facies iii. We proposed that the distribution and size asymmetry of these two chaos unit types may be determined by two factors: distinct heat sources and variations in the physical properties of the ice crust.