Shallow normal fault slopes on Saturnian icy satellites

Beddingfield, C. B.; Burr, D. M.; Dunne, William M.

doi:10.1002/2015je004852

Cited by 17 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 116 publications

(194 reference statements)

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“…Cassini revealed that tectonic systems on the Saturnian satellites are much more complex than revealed by Voyager (cf. [3,39,40]). Although superficially similar to the graben-like fracture patterns on Dione and Rhea, the origins of the incompletely mapped fracture systems of Oberon and Titania remain unconstrained.…”

Section: Return To the Uranian System -Outstanding Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These fractures resemble the younger graben that crosscut the trailing hemispheres of both Dione and Rhea (figure TR) (e.g. [39,40]), which are up to approximately 3 km deep from stereogrammetry. The Titania fractures are thus deeper and more concentrated in fewer structures than the Saturnian examples, though at 3 km pixel −1 smaller Rhean and Dionian fractures are not resolved.…”

Section: Titaniamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Topography and geology of Uranian mid-sized icy satellites in comparison with Saturnian and Plutonian satellites

Schenk

Moore

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Newly processed global imaging and topographic mapping of Uranus's five major satellites reveal differences and similarities to mid-sized satellites at Saturn and Pluto. Three modes of internal heat redistribution are recognized. The broad similarity of Miranda's three oval resurfacing zones to those mapped on Enceladus and (subtly) on Dione are likely due to antipodal diapiric upwelling. Conversely, break-up and foundering of crustal blocks accompanied by extensive (cryo)volcanism is the dominant mode on both Charon and Ariel. Titania's fault network finds parallels on Rhea, Dione, Tethys and possibly Oberon. Differences in the geologic style of resurfacing in the satellite systems (e.g. plains on Charon, Dione, Tethys and perhaps Titania versus ridges on Miranda and Ariel) may be driven by differences in ice composition. Surface processes such as volatile transport may also be indicated by bright and dark materials on Oberon, Umbriel and Charon. The more complete and higher quality observations of the Saturnian and Plutonian mid-sized icy satellites by Cassini and New Horizons reveal a wealth of features and phenomena that cannot be perceived in the more limited Voyager coverage of the Uranian satellites, harbingers of many discoveries awaiting us on a return to Uranus. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Future exploration of ice giant systems'.

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Section: Return To the Uranian System -Outstanding Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Titaniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Topography and geology of Uranian mid-sized icy satellites in comparison with Saturnian and Plutonian satellites

Schenk

Moore

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…The ASP supports the ISIS cube (.cub) file format and can make use of the ISIS camera models and ancillary information (i.e., SPICE kernels) for images. The software has been successfully used to generate DTMs of Europa and other satellites (e.g., Dione, Rhea, Tethys) [38,39,52,53].…”

Section: Producing Dtms Using the Ames Stereo Pipelinementioning

confidence: 99%

How Well Do We Know Europa’s Topography? An Evaluation of the Variability in Digital Terrain Models of Europa

et al. 2021

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Jupiter’s moon Europa harbors one of the most likely environments for extant extraterrestrial life. Determining whether Europa is truly habitable requires understanding the structure and thickness of its ice shell, including the existence of perched water or brines. Stereo-derived topography from images acquired by NASA Galileo’s Solid State Imager (SSI) of Europa are often used as a constraint on ice shell structure and heat flow, but the uncertainty in such topography has, to date, not been rigorously assessed. To evaluate the current uncertainty in Europa’s topography we generated and compared digital terrain models (DTMs) of Europa from SSI images using both the open-source Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP) software and the commercial SOCET SET® software. After first describing the criteria for assessing stereo quality in detail, we qualitatively and quantitatively describe both the horizontal resolution and vertical precision of the DTMs. We find that the horizontal resolution of the SOCET SET® DTMs is typically 8–11× the root mean square (RMS) pixel scale of the images, whereas the resolution of the ASP DTMs is 9–13× the maximum pixel scale of the images. We calculate the RMS difference between the ASP and SOCET SET® DTMs as a proxy for the expected vertical precision (EP), which is a function of the matching accuracy and stereo geometry. We consistently find that the matching accuracy is ~0.5 pixels, which is larger than well-established “rules of thumb” that state that the matching accuracy is 0.2–0.3 pixels. The true EP is therefore ~1.7× larger than might otherwise be assumed. In most cases, DTM errors are approximately normally distributed, and errors that are several times the derived EP occur as expected. However, in two DTMs, larger errors (differences) occur and correlate with real topography. These differences primarily result from manual editing of the SOCET SET® DTMs. The product of the DTM error and the resolution is typically 4–8 pixel2 if calculated using the RMS image scale for SOCET SET® DTMs and the maximum images scale for the ASP DTMs, which is consistent with recent work using martian data sets and suggests that the relationship applies more broadly. We evaluate how ASP parameters affect DTM quality and find that using a smaller subpixel refinement kernel results in DTMs with smaller (better) resolution but, in some cases, larger gaps, which are sometimes reduced by increasing the size of the correlation kernel. We conclude that users of ASP should always systematically evaluate the choice of parameters for a given dataset.

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“…Many of the grabens on the Wispy Terrain are often faint (or not visible in available images) at topographic lows (Figure 4), presumably because the depth of each fault is typically shallower than surface undulations. Following structural analyses of lunar grabens [Golombek, 1979;McGill, 1971] and assuming the width and the dip of the faults within a typical graben of the Wispy Terrain to be 5 km and 23°(the dip obtained by Beddingfield et al [2015]), the base of the faulted layer is at the depth of 1 km, which is less than the depth of the craters. Based on this argument, most of the Type B craters are examples of craters formed before the faulting.…”

Section: Crater Classificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing of the faulting on the Wispy Terrain of Dione based on stratigraphic relationships with impact craters

Hirata

2016

JGR Planets

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The trailing hemisphere of Dione is characterized by the Wispy Terrain, where it exhibits a hemispheric‐scale network of extensional tectonic faults superposed on the moon's cratered surface. The faults likely reflect past endogenic activity and Dione's interior thermal history. Although fresh exposures of pristine scarps indicate that the timing of the faulting is relatively recent, the absolute age of the faulting remains uncertain. To estimate the timing of the faulting, we investigated stratigraphic relationships between impact craters and faults. Using high‐resolution images obtained by the ISS camera onboard the Cassini spacecraft, we investigated craters with diameters exceeding or equal to 10 km that coincide spatially with the faults and classified the craters as crosscut craters or superposed craters. As a result, at least 82% of the craters were interpreted as clear examples of crosscut craters and 12% of the craters were interpreted to be candidates of superposed craters, although stratigraphic relationships are often ambiguous. The paucity of superposed craters and a predicted cratering rate indicate that the faulting of the Wispy Terrain is 0.30–0.79 Ga. If 12–18% of the craters are assumed to be superposed, the timing of the faulting could be in the range 0.30–0.79 Ga. However, it is possible that the faulting of the Wispy Terrain is still ongoing.

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Shallow normal fault slopes on Saturnian icy satellites

Cited by 17 publications

References 116 publications

Topography and geology of Uranian mid-sized icy satellites in comparison with Saturnian and Plutonian satellites

Topography and geology of Uranian mid-sized icy satellites in comparison with Saturnian and Plutonian satellites

How Well Do We Know Europa’s Topography? An Evaluation of the Variability in Digital Terrain Models of Europa

Timing of the faulting on the Wispy Terrain of Dione based on stratigraphic relationships with impact craters

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