Speaker
Description
Beyond the orbit of Mars, most of the solid planetary bodies contain a large fraction of water ice. During the last three decades, a series of space missions to Jupiter’s system (Galileo 1995-2003, Juno (2016-2026), Saturn’s system (2004-2017), dwarf planets Ceres (Dawn (2014-2018) and Pluto (New Horizons 2015), have revealed that several of these icy worlds possess salty water oceans beneath their icy crust. Due to lower gravity and reduced hydrostatic pressure and temperature compared to the terrestrial context, porosity can be maintained over geological timescales and sustained active exchange processes between the different layers constituting their interior. Porous media processes therefore play a key role in promoting chemical and thermal transport in these extraterrestrial environments, including hydrothermal water flow in their porous rocky core, tidally-induced porous flow at the ocean interface and in partially melted layers, and vapor transport through the porous ice near the surface and in active faults. In this presentation, I will review the current knowledge about these icy worlds and highlight a series of active processes revealed by recent exploration, involving porous media.
| Country | France |
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