Investigation 3:

Cryovolcanism and Space Weathering on Europa:
Linking the Evolution of the Observable Surface Materials and
Interior Compositions

PIs: 

• Christopher Hamilton, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, UArizona
• Alexis Bouquet, Laboratoire de Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires (PIIM), CNRS

Summary:

Cryovolcanism is an expression of internal heat loss via the eruption partially-liquid water from an internal reservoir to the surface. It is particularly important as a transport mechanism between internal liquid oceans or lenses and frigid surfaces that can be sampled and accessed. However, there are many unknowns about how cryomagmatic plumbing systems work on icy bodies given that liquid water and brines are negatively buoyant relative to the surrounding ice. The proposed research will combine numerical models of melt-migration (Task 1) with laboratory experiments (Task 2) to determine how relatively dense cryomagma can erupt to Europa’s surface and how space weathering processes affect will affect these materials.