Tidal dissipation in Europa: A correction
- 1 November 1980
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Geophysical Research Letters
- Vol. 7 (11) , 987-988
- https://doi.org/10.1029/gl007i011p00987
Abstract
The possibility that tidal dissipation in a thin ice crust was sufficient to preserve liquid water on Jupiter's satellite Europa was suggested by Cassen et al. [1979]. However, their calculation of the tidal heating rate for that situation is in error. For the same parameter values, the actual heating rate would be much less than that given in the cited paper. Thus, their conclusion regarding the possibility that liquid water exists today on Europa is considerably weakened. The purposes of this paper are to correct the calculation of the tidal dissipation rate in a Europan ice crust, to discuss briefly the implications for Europa's thermal history, and to clarify certain aspects of the tidal heating problem which should have been obvious to the authors of the original paper.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Galilean Satellites and Jupiter: Voyager 2 Imaging Science ResultsScience, 1979
- Is there liquid water on Europa?Geophysical Research Letters, 1979
- Melting of Io by Tidal DissipationScience, 1979
- On the internal structure of the major satellites of the outer planetsGeophysical Research Letters, 1979
- Contribution of tidal dissipation to lunar thermal historyIcarus, 1978