Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution

<p>Empirical data collected from mapping campaigns combined with modeling of geologic processes improves our understanding of planetary geology. Many planet- or satellite-scale processes cannot be reproduced in labs, thus analyzing surface features provides insights to confirm, discount, or improve models. I present the methods used to map and characterize the morphometry of several types of geologic features found on three icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, and the resulting data. Trends in the data provide insight into feature formation, and to both surface and interior processes occurring in icy satellites. Topics include: i) linear features and despinning stresses on Iapetus, ii) long-runout landslides and friction reduction on Iapetus, iii) pits, uplifts, and small chaos regions on Europa and what they reveal about ice shell thickness, iv) relaxed impact craters and the thermal history of Ganymede, and v) the size-velocity distribution of ejecta fragments from large cratering events on Europa and Ganymede.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Earth and Planetary Sciences

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Singer, Kelsi Nab

Contributors dc:contributor

• William B McKinnon

• Craters
• Icy
• Jupiter
• Moons
• Satellites
• Saturn
• Earth Sciences

Language dc:language

English (en)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7936/K7BG2M1T

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-2079