Abstract
Images of Europa from the Galileo spacecraft show a surface with a
complex history involving tectonic deformation, impact cratering,
and possible emplacement of ice-rich materials and perhaps liquids
on the surface, Differences in impact crater distributions suggest
that some areas have been resurfaced more recently than others; Europa
could experience current cryovolcanic and tectonic activity. Global-scale
patterns of tectonic features suggest deformation resulting from
non-synchronous rotation of Europa around Jupiter. Some regions of
the lithosphere have been fractured, with icy plates separated and
rotated into new positions. The dimensions of these plates suggest
that the depth to liquid or mobile ice was only a few kilometers
at the time of disruption. Some surfaces have also been up-warped,
possibly by diapirs, cryomagmatic intrusions, or convective upwelling.
In some places, this deformation has led to the development of chaotic
terrain in which surface material has collapsed and/or been eroded.
(C) 1998 Academic Press.
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