T153 Friends of Hoth, Episode VII: Small, Icy, and Ocean Worlds Awaken

Tuesday, 17 October 2023
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
323

GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF OCEAN WORLDS TRITON AND DIONE AT A 1:5M SCALE

Paper number: T153-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:35 AM – 8:50 AM

Authors

Abstract

Comparative planetology is an important tool for understanding planetary bodies. In the context of ocean worlds in the outer Solar System, where data are limited, detailed geologic mapping efforts are a key resource for understanding similarities and differences in the geologic histories of these potentially habitable worlds. We present geologic mapping results at a 1:5M scale for Dione and Triton, two worlds from very different planetary systems. Dione is a moon of Saturn with a heavily cratered surface and evidence for a period of intense tectonic activity preserved in its wispy terrains. Dione is part of a large, complex system of moons rings around Saturn. Triton’s surface is almost devoid of craters and strong evidence of cryovolcanic activity is preserved on its surface, including active plumes. In contrast to Dione, Triton is the only large satellite around Neptune and has a retrograde orbit due to its status as a captured Kuiper Belt object rather than satellite formed in situ. We will present results from global geologic mapping efforts of Dione and Triton and discuss new interpretations of their geological features, terrains, and relative chronologies.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-391793

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