Melting in high-pressure ice layers of large ocean worlds - Implications for volatiles transport
Type of publication: | Article |
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Publication status: | Published |
Journal: | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume: | 45 |
Number: | 16 |
Year: | 2018 |
Pages: | 8096-8103 |
DOI: | 10.1029/2018GL078889 |
Abstract: | A high‐pressure ice layer controls the exchange of heat and material between the silicate core and the ocean of Ganymede and Titan. We have shown (Kalousová et al., 2018, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.07.018) that a temperate (partially molten) layer is always present at the ocean interface. Another temperate layer with a few percent of water may be present at the silicates interface for low values of Rayleigh number. We derive scaling laws to predict the critical value under which this temperate layer exists and the amount of generated melt. The presence of liquid water in contact with silicates was probably limited to the early history, providing a pathway for the transfer of salts and volatiles like 40Ar to the ocean. We also derive scaling laws for the water outflow velocity and for the top temperate layer thickness. These laws can be used to model the global thermal and compositional evolution of large ocean worlds. |
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Added by: | [VP] |
Total mark: | 0 |
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