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Effective elastic thickness and heat flux estimates on Ganymede
Author(s) -
Nimmo Francis,
Pappalardo Robert T.,
Giese Bernd
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl013976
Subject(s) - crust , geology , heat flux , galileo (satellite navigation) , rift , deformation (meteorology) , viscoelasticity , tectonophysics , flux (metallurgy) , geophysics , elastic modulus , fault (geology) , volcanism , seismology , materials science , mechanics , geodesy , tectonics , composite material , physics , heat transfer , metallurgy , oceanography
We identify sites of apparent flexural uplift at rift zone boundaries on Ganymede using Galileo stereo‐derived topography. The estimated effective elastic thickness t e is 0.9–1.7 km for a nominal Young's modulus of 1 GPa. Using a viscoelastic model of the ice crust we find that the temperature defining the base of the elastic layer is <185 K for likely strain rates. The inferred local heat flux during deformation is less than 245 mW m −2 , and probably close to 100 mW m −2 . The stresses required to cause fault motion are around 1 MPa. Both the high heat flux and the high stresses are consistent with estimates of these quantities during an episode of transient tidal heating in Ganymede's past.