Europa: Tidal heating of upwelling thermal plumes and the origin of lenticulae and chaos melting

Abstract

Tidal heating models are linked to thermal convection models for ice having strongly temperature dependent viscosity. In the range of ice viscosity inferred from laboratory experiments, tidal forces will heat up rising diapirs on Europa. Partial melt produced in the rising diapirs is predicted to create disruption of near-surface materials and formation of lenticulae and chaos, even if the average ice layer thickness overlying an ocean is larger than 20 km.