Cryovolcanism has played an important role in the geological histories of many icy satellites. Cryovolcanism, like the more familiar silicate volcanism on Earth and the other terrestrial planets, takes many forms. Many individual cryovolcanic landforms are morphologically surprisingly similar to terrestrial volcanic landforms and can be explained with similar mechanisms. However, assemblages of cryovolcanic, tectonic, and impact structures form unique and varied landscapes quite alien in their collective expression. Many variables can affect the cryovolcanic style of a satellite but none more so than cryolava composition. This work considers the compositional variable in considerable detail. This work summarises existing knowledge of phase equilibria and physical properties of cosmochemically relevant unary, binary, and multi-component chemical systems, and where published knowledge was found lacking, the author presents his own measurements of the physical chemistry of volatile mixtures. The author then takes the reader on a brief tour of cryovolcanic landscapes, and applies knowledge of the physical chemistry of volatile mixtures to problems of cryovolcanological interest. Aqueous cryolavas may range in composition from salt-water brines to cryogenic ammonia-water-rich multi-component solutions possibly involving methanol, ammonium sulfide, alkali chlorides, and many other potential components. Cryomagmatic distillation can greatly accentuate the importance of trace and minor constituents of icy satellites. The viscosities, densities, and other physical properties of these liquids vary considerably and depend sensitively on their exact compositions. These properties affect everything from cryovolcanic eruptive styles and landforms, to the way cryovolcanic crusts respond to tectonic stresses. It is believed that the compositional variable is directly or indirectly implicated in a wide variety of geomorphic aspects of contrast among the icy satellites. Thus, even though we can not as yet confidently attribute any specific morphology to a specific composition (for lack of in situ compositional analyses), there appears to be a powerful link between the composition of the ices originally accreted by a satellite and its subsequent interior evolution and exterior geomorphic appearance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/185177 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Kargel, Jeffrey Stuart. |
| Contributors | Lunine, Jonathan I., Ganguly, Jibamitra, Patchett, Jonathan, P., Croft, Steven Kent, Strom, Robert G., Lewis, John S. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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