Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus?
Geophysical estimates of paleo heat fluxes on the Uranian moons Miranda and Ariel are in the range of 25–75 mW m ^−2 . For a canonical Uranus dissipation factor Q = 18,000, expected equilibrium tidal heating rates for these satellites are less than 6 mW m ^−2 . At least for Ariel, this order-of-magn...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0cfb |
| _version_ | 1797391360817364992 |
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| author | Francis Nimmo |
| author_facet | Francis Nimmo |
| author_sort | Francis Nimmo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Geophysical estimates of paleo heat fluxes on the Uranian moons Miranda and Ariel are in the range of 25–75 mW m ^−2 . For a canonical Uranus dissipation factor Q = 18,000, expected equilibrium tidal heating rates for these satellites are less than 6 mW m ^−2 . At least for Ariel, this order-of-magnitude discrepancy can be resolved by positing a low Uranus Q ≈ 10 ^3 in the recent past and at the present day. Such a low Q (high dissipation) can be reconciled with an ancient origin of the Uranian satellites if Q is time-dependent, as exemplified by the “resonance-locking” hypothesis, and provides an additional constraint on the interior structure of the planet. A Q of 10 ^3 implies present-day migration rates for Miranda and Ariel of 5 and 11 cm yr ^−1 , respectively, potentially detectable via astrometry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:31:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83a23c4d53b94b688b80d82801a51a60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:31:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-83a23c4d53b94b688b80d82801a51a602023-12-14T13:15:57ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382023-01-0141224110.3847/PSJ/ad0cfbStrong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus?Francis Nimmo0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3573-5915Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA ; fnimmo@ucsc.eduGeophysical estimates of paleo heat fluxes on the Uranian moons Miranda and Ariel are in the range of 25–75 mW m ^−2 . For a canonical Uranus dissipation factor Q = 18,000, expected equilibrium tidal heating rates for these satellites are less than 6 mW m ^−2 . At least for Ariel, this order-of-magnitude discrepancy can be resolved by positing a low Uranus Q ≈ 10 ^3 in the recent past and at the present day. Such a low Q (high dissipation) can be reconciled with an ancient origin of the Uranian satellites if Q is time-dependent, as exemplified by the “resonance-locking” hypothesis, and provides an additional constraint on the interior structure of the planet. A Q of 10 ^3 implies present-day migration rates for Miranda and Ariel of 5 and 11 cm yr ^−1 , respectively, potentially detectable via astrometry.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0cfbUranian satellitesUranus |
| spellingShingle | Francis Nimmo Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? The Planetary Science Journal Uranian satellites Uranus |
| title | Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? |
| title_full | Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? |
| title_fullStr | Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? |
| title_short | Strong Tidal Dissipation at Uranus? |
| title_sort | strong tidal dissipation at uranus |
| topic | Uranian satellites Uranus |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0cfb |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT francisnimmo strongtidaldissipationaturanus |