82 Friends of Hoth, Episode IX: The Rise of Icy Ocean Worlds

We invite abstracts relating to surface, structural, and tectonic processes; interior, and thermal evolution; geochemistry and astrobiology; and planetary analogs as they pertain to outer planet icy satellites. This includes experimental, observational, and theoretical approaches.

Monday, 20 October 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
HBGCC, 214B

Weaving the Radar Web Across Europa: How Well do We Sample Europa’s Linear Structures with REASON?

Paper number: 82-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:05 AM – 9:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

The geology of Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, will be investigated by the Europa Clipper mission. Europa’s bands, relatively linear areas of different albedo or texture compared to their surroundings (Doggett et al. 2009), are not well understood. For example, while many bands are likely to be dilational or pull-apart bands (Prockter and Patterson 2009), there are a few possible exceptions. REASON, the ice-penetrating radar instrument on Europa Clipper, will be instrumental in understanding the characteristics of Europa’s bands. Due to the anisotropic nature of radar observations, understanding the intersection angles between the flybys and the bands will enable easier interpretation of REASON data. Using QGIS and the digital version of the Global Geologic Map of Europa (Leonard et al. 2024), two python scripts were created to extract the intersection points and the angle between the flyby trajectory and band edges. These angles were compiled in a summary matrix and in more detailed CSVs for each individual flyby. The day/night time and the altitude were both found for each intersection. Preliminary analysis of the results reveals several points of interest, including some flybys that travel over a band for a significant distance and several nearly perpendicular intersections. Applying the code, with minimal to moderate modifications, would allow similar calculations to be done for other features on Europa. These results could also be helpful in analyzing REASON data for similar reasons. A corresponding calculation for Ganymede’s linear features could also prove helpful.

Doggett, Thomas, Greeley, Ronald, and Figueredo, Patricio, Geologic Stratigraphy and Evolution of Europa’s Surface, 2009, pp 137-159, in Europa, eds. R. T. Pappalardo, W. B. McKinnon and K. Khurana, The University of Arizona Press 

Leonard, E.J., Patthoff, D.A., and Senske, D.A., 2024, Global geologic map of Europa: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3513, scale 1:15,000,000, pamphlet 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3513.

Prockter, L. M and Patterson G. W, Morphology and Evolution of Europa’s Ridges and Bands, 2009, pp 237- 258, in Europa, eds. R. T. Pappalardo, W. B. McKinnon and K. Khurana, The University of Arizona Press 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-413628

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