Medical and Hospital News  
SATURN DAILY
Cassini Spots Potential Ice Volcano On Saturn Moon

This image is based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft and shows a flyover of an area of Saturn's moon Titan known as Sotra Facula. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/University of Arizona
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2010
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found possible ice volcanoes on Saturn's moon Titan that are similar in shape to those on Earth that spew molten rock.

Topography and surface composition data have enabled scientists to make the best case yet in the outer solar system for an Earth-like volcano landform that erupts in ice. The results were presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

"When we look at our new 3-D map of Sotra Facula on Titan, we are struck by its resemblance to volcanoes like Mt. Etna in Italy, Laki in Iceland and even some small volcanic cones and flows near my hometown of Flagstaff," said Randolph Kirk, who led the 3-D mapping work, and is a Cassini radar team member and geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Scientists have been debating for years whether ice volcanoes, also called cryovolcanoes, exist on ice-rich moons, and if they do, what their characteristics are.

The working definition assumes some kind of subterranean geological activity warms the cold environment enough to melt part of the satellite's interior and sends slushy ice or other materials through an opening in the surface. Volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and Earth spew silicate lava.

Some cryovolcanoes bear little resemblance to terrestrial volcanoes, such as the tiger stripes at Saturn's moon Enceladus, where long fissures spray jets of water and icy particles that leave little trace on the surface.

At other sites, eruption of denser materials might build up volcanic peaks or finger-like flows. But when such flows were spotted on Titan in the past, theories explained them as non-volcanic processes, such as rivers depositing sediment. At Sotra, however, cryovolcanism is the best explanation for two peaks more than 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) high with deep volcanic craters and finger-like flows.

"This is the very best evidence, by far, for volcanic topography anywhere documented on an icy satellite," said Jeffrey Kargel, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "It's possible the mountains are tectonic in origin, but the interpretation of cryovolcano is a much simpler, more consistent explanation."

Kirk and colleagues analyzed new Cassini radar images. His USGS group created the topographic map and 3-D flyover images of Sotra Facula. Data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer revealed the lobed flows had a composition different from the surrounding surface. Scientists have no evidence of current activity at Sotra, but they plan to monitor the area.

"Cryovolcanoes help explain the geological forces sculpting some of these exotic places in our solar system," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "At Titan, for instance, they explain how methane can be continually replenished in the atmosphere when the sun is constantly breaking that molecule down."

Cassini launched Oct. 15, 1997, and began orbiting Saturn in 2004. Saturn has more than 60 known moons, with Titan being the largest. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). JPL manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington.

The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and ASI, working with team members from the U.S. and several European countries.

The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer was built by JPL, with a major contribution by ASI. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer science team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Cassini mission
Explore The Ring World of Saturn and her moons
Jupiter and its Moons
The million outer planets of a star called Sol
News Flash at Mercury



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SATURN DAILY
Hot Plasma Explosions Inflate Saturn's Magnetic Field
Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2010
A new analysis based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft finds a causal link between mysterious, periodic signals from Saturn's magnetic field and explosions of hot ionized gas, known as plasma, around the planet. Scientists have found that enormous clouds of plasma periodically bloom around Saturn and move around the planet like an unbalanced load of laundry on spin cycle. The movement ... read more







SATURN DAILY
Caricom-Australia chide empty promises to Haiti

Tearful homecoming for Pakistan flood survivors

Clinton attacks slow Haiti quake progress

Clinton Haiti meeting moved due to unrest

SATURN DAILY
Galileo's Navigation Control Hub Opens In Fucino

China Launches Seventh Orbiter For Indigenous Global SatNav System

Universal Address And GPS Enhanced Google Maps For iPhones

New GeoGroups App Reinvents Geo-Social Experience

SATURN DAILY
Beetroot Juice Could Help People Live More Active Lives

Researchers Discover Compound With Potent Effects on Biological Clock

Our Flawed Understanding of Risk Helps Drive Financial Market Instability

Researchers Discover Compound With Potent Effects On Biological Clock

SATURN DAILY
Age Doesn't Matter: New Genes Are As Essential As Ancient ones

Scientists Decipher 3 Billion-Year-old Genomic Fossils

How Plants Counteract Against The Shade of Larger Neighbours

Efficient Phosphorus Use By Phytoplankton

SATURN DAILY
Cambodia's success in tackling HIV/AIDS threatened: study

Green Water Treatments Fail To Prevent Bacterial Growth In Large Air-Cooling Systems

England reports new swine flu deaths

Bacteria Seek To Topple The Egg As Top Flu Vaccine Tool

SATURN DAILY
China urged to probe Uighur 'torture'

Japanese feelings for China at record low: poll

China must reveal fate of Mongol activist: Amnesty

Chinese public increasingly unhappy with life: survey

SATURN DAILY
Mexican drug cartel branches out in Costa Rica: US

Somalia's pirates take to the high seas

Pirate to face trial in Belgium: defence ministry

Piracy sidelines third of Taiwan's Indian Ocean tuna fleet

SATURN DAILY
China backs EU finance measures at start of trade talks

Walker's World: Euro fails again

China tells local governments to curb land prices

US Congress passes contentious Obama tax deal


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement