1998/09/01 by R. Greeley, R. Sullivan, J. E. Klemaszewski +18 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Astro and Planetary Science #Planetary Science and Exploration #High-pressure geophysics and materials
paper · doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5969
openalex publication_date 1998/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Images of Europa from the Galileo spacecraft show a surface with a complex history involving tectonic deformation, impact cratering, and possible emplacement of ice-rich materials and perhaps liquids on the surface. Differences in impact crater distributions suggest that some areas have been resurfaced more recently than others; Europa could experience current cryovolcanic and tectonic activity. Global-scale patterns of tectonic features suggest deformation resulting from non-synchronous rotation of Europa around Jupiter. Some regions of the lithosphere have been fractured, with icy plates separated and rotated into new positions. The dimensions of these plates suggest that the depth to liquid or mobile ice was only a few kilometers at the time of disruption. Some surfaces have also been upwarped, possibly by diapirs, cryomagmatic intrusions, or convective upwelling. In some places, this deformation has led to the development of chaotic terrain in which surface material has collapsed and/or been eroded.