Geological Society of America

T117 Friends of Hoth, Episode VI: Return of the Small, Icy, and Ocean Worlds

Monday, 10 October 2022
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
501

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLATE MOTIONS ON EUROPA: ASTYPALAEA LINEA, LIBYA LINEA, AND CYCLADES MACULA

Paper number: T117-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:35 PM – 1:55 PM

Authors

Charlene Detelich Presenting Author
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
Charlene Detelich Presenting Author
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Geoffrey C. Collins
Wheaton College, Norton, MA
G. Wesley Patterson
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD

Abstract

Europa, one of Jupiter’s 4 largest moons, is noticeably covered in tectonic features extending several thousand kilometers across the surface. In some cases, these features divide the surface into discrete, rigid plates similar to terrestrial plate boundaries. The boundaries of plates on Europa, however, are predominantly defined by two morphologies: ridges and bands. By identifying and characterizing systems of plates, we can begin to understand the history of plate motions on Europa through tectonic reconstructions. For this study, we characterized plate systems associated with the development of the prominent features Astypalaea Linea, Libya Linea, and Cyclades Macula located in Europa’s southern anti-jovian hemisphere. We found that the plate motions that were responsible for generating these bands occurred in approximately four stages dominated by right lateral transtension and counterclockwise rotation of plates. While previous studies have treated Libya Linea, Astypalaea Linea, and Cyclades Macula each as single phase opening bands, we find that Libya has opened in at least 3 distinct phases while Astypalaea and Cyclades have opened in at least two phases. Additionally, the opening of Libya, Astypalaea, and Cyclades are all interconnected due to plate rotations via previously unrecognized accommodation structures that were only visible once we began our reconstruction.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380085

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