CRYOVOLCANISM IS THOUGHT TO OCCUR ON MANY OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM BODIES (ESPECIALLY EUROPA ENCELADUS TITAN AND…

Assistance award details

Assistance award identifier

ASST_NON_80NSSC18K0153_080

FAIN

80NSSC18K0153

Recipient

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM

Awarding agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Funding agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Assistance listing (CFDA)

43.001

Total obligated

$214,587

Period

Jan 1, 2018 – Dec 31, 2020

Fiscal year

2018

Place of performance state

MO

Source file

FY2018_All_Assistance_Full_20261006.zip

Description

CRYOVOLCANISM IS THOUGHT TO OCCUR ON MANY OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM BODIES (ESPECIALLY EUROPA ENCELADUS TITAN AND TRITON) RESULTING IN DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES LIKE DOMES FLOWS/SMOOTH PLAINS GEYSERS AND HOTSPOTS. WHILE CRYOMAGMAS ARE THOUGHT TO BE PREDOMINANTLY AQUEOUS OR BRINY CRYSTAL-LIQUID MUSHES THEY SHARE SOME FEATURES IN COMMON WITH SILICATE MAGMAS. THE RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF MAGMA (INCLUDING EFFECTIVE VISCOSITY AND YIELD STRENGTH) DEPENDS STRONGLY ON CRYSTAL FRACTION AND CONTROLS MAGMA ASCENT RATE AND STYLE OF ERUPTION / EMPLACEMENT. THE PRESERVED MORPHOLOGY OF VOLCANIC FEATURES IS OFTEN USED TO INFER THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LAVAS FOR EXAMPLE FLOW THICKNESS AND FLOW-FRONT AND STEEPNESS MAY BE USED TO INFER YIELD STRENGTH. THE SIMPLE BINARY OR TERNARY EUTECTIC NATURE OF LIKELY CRYOMAGMAS MEANS THEIR RHEOLOGY WILL DEPEND PRIMARILY ON CRYSTAL FRACTION ITSELF A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE. THE MUCH HIGHER MELTING POINT OF H2O ICE (ICE IH) COMPARED TO NH3 AND CH3OH ICES MEANS THAT WATER ICE IS THE MOST LIKELY CRYSTALLINE PHASE TO BE ENCOUNTERED OVER A WIDE TEMPERATURE RANGE. THE ABILITY OF WATER ICE TO FORM DENDRITES NEEDLES PLATES OR PRISMS DEPENDING ON GROWTH CONDITIONS MEANS THAT TEXTURAL CONTROLS ON RHEOLOGY MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ADDITION TO JUST CRYSTAL FRACTION. THIS PROPOSAL OUTLINES AN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH PLAN THAT WILL DETERMINE THE RHEOLOGICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF LIKELY CRYOMAGMATIC COMPOSITIONS AT CONDITIONS APPROPRIATE TO CRYOVOLCANISM ON OCEAN WORLDS OF THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM AND MODEL VARIATIONS IN THESE PROPERTIES AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE COMPOSITION AND CRYSTAL CONTENT. THE AIM IS TO PROVIDE ROBUST MODELS FOR THESE PROPERTIES TO BE USED IN NUMERICAL MODELS OF ICY/OCEAN WORLD PROCESSES AND TO EXPLORE THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BEHAVIOR OF CRYOLAVA AND SILICATE MAGMAS DURING COOLING AND CRYSTALLIZATION. WE ANTICIPATE SEVERAL ADVANCES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CRYOLAVA RHEOLOGY: EXPERIMENTAL VISCOSITY DATASET FOR WIDE RANGE OF BR