Double-diffusive convection in Europa's icy shell and subsurface ocean

欧洲冰壳和地下海洋的双扩散对流

• 批准号: 427389293
• 负责人: Dr. Teresa Wong, Ph.D.
• 金额: --
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2018-12-31 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/427389293?language=en
• 关键词: Double; diffusive; convection; Europa; icy

Europa, a mid-sized satellite of Jupiter, is a unique icy body which shows a remarkable variety of features, indicating a young surface and widespread activity. Magnetic field data from the Galileo spacecraft and the images of potentially erupting plumes from the Hubble Space Telescope provided compelling evidence for the presence of a subsurface ocean. Colored bands and disrupted terrains on the surface are enhanced in hydrated minerals, potentially indicative of the composition of the subsurface ocean. These observations invoke various hypotheses of how materials are being transported from the seafloor to the surface by hydrothermal plumes, and raises questions on heat transfer. Here we propose to investigate double-diffusive convection, the process in which both the temperature and composition (or salinity if the chemical constituent is salt) are involved the dynamics of the convecting layer, therefore having significant consequences on the thermal evolution of Europa which we aim to understand. Chemical heterogeneity affects the vigour of convection, the forms of plumes, the generation and destruction of stratified or finger structures in the ocean, and thus the transport of heat and materials from the interior to the surface. We will model convection in the icy shell and the subsurface ocean first as separate systems to study their behavior as a function of theirproperties. After establishing a basic understanding of each system, we will examine their coupled evolution to see how the dynamics in one system affect the other. A number of numerical codes (finite volume, finite element, spectral methods) are available to study the icy shell (infinite Prandtl number) and the ocean (low Prandtl number). The results will enable us to (1) constrain the depth of the icy shell, (2) estimate the timescale of mixing, (3) infer the heat flux, and (4) provide clues about the formation of surface features. The approach developed in this research will be pertinent to studying icy bodies harbouring subsurface oceans, which are prospective destinations for future exploration. The predictions from this study can be tested by expected observations from the upcoming ESA JUICE and NASA Europa Clipper missions. This will further our knowledge on the physical processes and the evolution of Europa, having important implications for the satellite's evolution, surface environment, and habitability.

木卫二是木星的一颗中等大小的卫星，是一个独特的冰体，它显示出各种各样的特征，表明它的表面年轻，活动广泛。伽利略号宇宙飞船的磁场数据和哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的可能喷发的羽流图像为地下海洋的存在提供了令人信服的证据。表面上的彩色条带和破碎的地形在水合矿物中得到增强，这可能表明地下海洋的组成。这些观测结果引发了关于热液羽流如何将物质从海底输送到地表的各种假设，并提出了关于热传递的问题。在这里，我们建议研究双扩散对流，在这个过程中，温度和成分（或盐度，如果化学成分是盐）都涉及对流层的动态，因此有显着的后果，我们的目的是了解欧罗巴的热演化。化学不均匀性影响对流的活力、羽流的形式、海洋分层或指状结构的产生和破坏，从而影响热量和物质从内部向表面的输送。我们将首先将冰壳和地下海洋中的对流作为单独的系统来模拟，以研究它们的行为作为其属性的函数。在建立了对每个系统的基本理解之后，我们将研究它们的耦合演化，以了解一个系统中的动态如何影响另一个系统。一些数值代码（有限体积，有限元，谱方法）可用于研究冰壳（无限普朗特数）和海洋（低普朗特数）。这些结果将使我们能够（1）限制冰壳的深度，（2）估计混合的时间尺度，（3）推断热通量，以及（4）提供有关表面特征形成的线索。在这项研究中开发的方法将适用于研究含有地下海洋的冰体，这是未来勘探的预期目的地。这项研究的预测可以通过即将到来的ESA JUICE和NASA Europa Clipper任务的预期观测进行测试。这将进一步加深我们对木卫二的物理过程和演化的了解，对卫星的演化、表面环境和可居住性具有重要意义。