Premium
Conditions for the Long‐Term Preservation of a Deep Brine Reservoir in Ceres
Author(s) -
CastilloRogez Julie C.,
Hesse M. A.,
Formisano M.,
Sizemore H.,
Bland M.,
Ermakov A. I.,
Fu R. R.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2018gl081473
Subject(s) - crust , geology , mantle (geology) , clathrate hydrate , brine , geophysics , geochemistry , hydrate , thermodynamics , physics , chemistry , organic chemistry
We propose a new internal evolution model for the dwarf planet Ceres matching the constraints on Ceres' present internal state from the Dawn mission observations. We assume an interior differentiated into a volatile‐dominated crust and rocky mantle, and with remnant brines in the mantle, all consistent with inferences from the Dawn geophysical observations. Simulations indicate Ceres should preserve a warm crust until present if the crust is rich in clathrate hydrates. The temperature computed at the base of the crust exceeds 220 K for a broad range of conditions, allowing for the preservation of a small amount of brines at the base of the crust. However, a temperature ≥250 K, for which at least 1 wt.% sodium carbonate gets in solution requires a crustal abundance of clathrate hydrates greater than 55 vol.%, a situation possible for a narrow set of evolutionary scenarios.