Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World
We present evidence that Ariel's massive chasma-medial groove systems formed via spreading, where internally sourced material ascended and formed new crust. Evidence for this interpretation includes close alignment of offset faults and chasma margins during reconstruction, axial troughs bounded...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad9d3f |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832542915051651072 |
|---|---|
| author | Chloe B. Beddingfield Richard J. Cartwright Lauren M. Jozwiak Tom A. Nordheim G. Wes Patterson |
| author_facet | Chloe B. Beddingfield Richard J. Cartwright Lauren M. Jozwiak Tom A. Nordheim G. Wes Patterson |
| author_sort | Chloe B. Beddingfield |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present evidence that Ariel's massive chasma-medial groove systems formed via spreading, where internally sourced material ascended and formed new crust. Evidence for this interpretation includes close alignment of offset faults and chasma margins during reconstruction, axial troughs bounded by raised rims, bowed-up chasma floors with marginal valleys, subparallel chasma floor ridges, and relatively young medial groove–bounding terrain. Ariel's medial grooves are among the youngest known Uranian moon geologic features and might be conduits to the interior and the source of NH-bearing species, CO, CO _2 , and other potential internally derived volatiles detected on the surface. While medial grooves are observable in Brownie and Kewpie Chasmata, our results indicate that these features are also present below Voyager 2 Imaging Science System image resolutions in Korrigan, Pixie, and Sylph Chasmata. Close flybys of Ariel with a Uranus orbiter are imperative to uncover the nature of these curious features and to gain insight into this moon's most recent geologic events. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b909ba6d5fc6425da0858e9218718db1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-b909ba6d5fc6425da0858e9218718db12025-02-03T13:58:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-01623210.3847/PSJ/ad9d3fAriel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean WorldChloe B. Beddingfield0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5048-6254Richard J. Cartwright1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-6009Lauren M. Jozwiak2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7946-5633Tom A. Nordheim3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5888-4636G. Wes Patterson4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4787-3899Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD 20723, USAWe present evidence that Ariel's massive chasma-medial groove systems formed via spreading, where internally sourced material ascended and formed new crust. Evidence for this interpretation includes close alignment of offset faults and chasma margins during reconstruction, axial troughs bounded by raised rims, bowed-up chasma floors with marginal valleys, subparallel chasma floor ridges, and relatively young medial groove–bounding terrain. Ariel's medial grooves are among the youngest known Uranian moon geologic features and might be conduits to the interior and the source of NH-bearing species, CO, CO _2 , and other potential internally derived volatiles detected on the surface. While medial grooves are observable in Brownie and Kewpie Chasmata, our results indicate that these features are also present below Voyager 2 Imaging Science System image resolutions in Korrigan, Pixie, and Sylph Chasmata. Close flybys of Ariel with a Uranus orbiter are imperative to uncover the nature of these curious features and to gain insight into this moon's most recent geologic events.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad9d3fUranian satellitesTectonicsPlanetary scienceNatural satellite surfacesNatural satellites (Solar system) |
| spellingShingle | Chloe B. Beddingfield Richard J. Cartwright Lauren M. Jozwiak Tom A. Nordheim G. Wes Patterson Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World The Planetary Science Journal Uranian satellites Tectonics Planetary science Natural satellite surfaces Natural satellites (Solar system) |
| title | Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World |
| title_full | Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World |
| title_fullStr | Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World |
| title_short | Ariel’s Medial Grooves: Spreading Centers on a Candidate Ocean World |
| title_sort | ariel s medial grooves spreading centers on a candidate ocean world |
| topic | Uranian satellites Tectonics Planetary science Natural satellite surfaces Natural satellites (Solar system) |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad9d3f |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chloebbeddingfield arielsmedialgroovesspreadingcentersonacandidateoceanworld AT richardjcartwright arielsmedialgroovesspreadingcentersonacandidateoceanworld AT laurenmjozwiak arielsmedialgroovesspreadingcentersonacandidateoceanworld AT tomanordheim arielsmedialgroovesspreadingcentersonacandidateoceanworld AT gwespatterson arielsmedialgroovesspreadingcentersonacandidateoceanworld |