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WE PROPOSE A TARGETED STUDY OF MULTIPLE LOCATIONS ON EUROPA TO DEMONSTRATE THAT MANY DEFORMATION PATTERNS ARE MORE APPROPRIATELY EXPLAINED BY A MOBILE BRITTLE LID MODEL RATHER THAN TIDAL FORCING. WE AIM TO MEET THREE MAJOR SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES THAT EXPLORE THE EVIDENCE FOR, AND IMPLICATIONS OF A PLATE TECTONIC SYSTEM ON EUROPA: OBJECTIVE 1: DEMONSTRATE THAT MANY BROAD-SCALE DEFORMATION PATTERNS CAN ONLY BE RECONCILED WITH PLATE BOUNDARY MOTIONS, REQUIRING A NEW PARADIGM FOR EUROPA􀁅S FRACTURED SURFACE OBJECTIVE 2: PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF GLOBALLY-SIGNIFICANT PLATE BOUNDARIES, INCLUDING POTENTIAL SUBDUCTION SYSTEMS, THAT HAVE MODIFIED EUROPA􀁅S SURFACE OBJECTIVE 3: QUANTIFY THE ROLE OF DILATIONAL BANDS IN THE MOBILE LID SYSTEM AND THE IMPLICATIONS OR COMPLICATIONS FOR EXPLAINING EUROPA􀁅S YOUNG SURFACE AGE THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A NUMBER OF TASKS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE USE OF THE GALILEO SOLID STATE IMAGER (SSI) DATASET TO DEMONSTRATE ADDITIONAL PROSPECTIVE SITES OF SUBDUCTION ON EUROPA, TO COMPLETE DETAILED GEOLOGIC MAPPING IN ARCGIS AND ANALYSIS OF BROAD DEFORMATION BELTS THAT WE HYPOTHESIZE ARE RELATED TO PLATE MOTIONS, A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF DILATIONAL BAND FORMATION LOCATIONS, GEOMETRIES, AND DEVELOPMENTAL EXTENT AS IT WOULD PERTAIN TO A PLATE TECTONIC SYSTEM, COMPARISONS TO TIDAL STRESS MODELS AND FRACTURE MECHANICS, AND RIGOROUS STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION. PLATE MOTION RECONSTRUCTIONS WILL UTILIZE GPLATES SOFTWARE. TIDAL STRESSES WILL BE CALCULATED USING SATSTRESSGUI IN ORDER DEMONSTRATE WHERE THERE IS A BREAKDOWN IN TIDAL STRESS MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE ORIGIN OF SURFACE DEFORMATION PATTERNS. THE PROPOSED WORK IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO THE SOLAR SYSTEMS WORKING PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE FOCUS AREAS OF "LITHOSPHERES" AND "EVOLUTION AND MODIFICATION OF SURFACES". WE PROPOSE TIMELY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO DEMONSTRATE THAT ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES ON EARTH􀁅 PLATE TECTONICS􀁅 HAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY SHAPED EUROPA􀁅S GEOLOGIC HISTORY. THE PROSPECT OF PLATE MOTIONS ON EUROPA MAY REQUIRE A NEW PARADIGM FOR THINKING ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPA􀁅S ICE SHELL, INCLUDING THE ORIGINS AND MORPHOLOGIES OF DEFORMATION FEATURES THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO THE EFFECT OF TIDAL DISTORTION, AND THE ROLE OF PLATE TECTONICS IN CREATING THE GEOLOGICALLY YOUNG SURFACE AGE.
Estimated months remaining until end of performance.
Task order obligations
Period of performance
100% of period elapsed
Awarding Agency
NANATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Code: 8000
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