Geology topics

P. Helfenstein

Publications and source records attributed to P. Helfenstein.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1999

Galileo's Multiinstrument Spectral View of Europa's Surface Composition

We have combined spectral reflectance data from the Solid State Imaging (SSI) experiment, the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS), and the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) in an attempt to determine the composition and implied genesis of non-H2O components in the optical surface of Europa. We have considered four terrains: (1) the "dark terrains" on the trailing hemisphere, (2) the "mottled terrain," (3) the linea on the leading hemisphere, and (4) the linea embedded in the dark terrain on the trailing hemisphere. The darker materials in these terrains exhibit remarkably similar spectra in both the visible and near infrared. In the visible, a downturn toward shorter wavelengths has been attributed to sulfur. The broad concentrations of dark material on the trailing hemisphere was originally thought to be indicative of exogenic sulfur implantation. While an exogenic cause is still probable, more recent observations by the UVS team at higher spatial resolution have led to their suggestions that the role of the bombardment may have primarily been to sputter away overlying ice and to reveal underlying endogenic non-H2O contaminants. If so, this might explain why the spectra in all these terrains are so similar despite the fact that the contaminants in the linea are clearly endogenic and those in the mottled terrain are almost certainly so. In the near infrared, all these terrains exhibit much more asymmetrical bands at 1.4 and 2.0 ??m at shorter wavelengths than spectra from elsewhere on Europa. It has been argued that this is because the water molecules are bound in hydrated salts. However, this interpretation has been challenged and it has also been argued that pure coarse ice can exhibit such asymmetric bands under certain conditions. The nature of this controversy is briefly discussed, as are theoretical and experimental studies bearing on this problem. ?? 1999 Academic Press.

Icarus↗

USGS1999

Does Europa have a subsurface ocean? Evaluation of the geological evidence

It has been proposed that Jupiter's satellite Europa currently possesses a global subsurface ocean of liquid water. Galileo gravity data verify that the satellite is differentiated into an outer H 2 O layer about 100 km thick but cannot determine the current physical state of this layer (liquid or solid). Here we summarize the geological evidence regarding an extant subsurface ocean, concentrating on Galileo imaging data. We describe and assess nine pertinent lines of geological evidence: impact morphologies, lenticulae, cryovolcanic features, pull‐apart bands, chaos, ridges, surface frosts, topography, and global tectonics. An internal ocean would be a simple and comprehensive explanation for a broad range of observations; however, we cannot rule out the possibility that all of the surface morphologies could be due to processes in warm, soft ice with only localized or partial melting. Two different models of impact flux imply very different surface ages for Europa; the model favored here indicates an average age of ∼50 Myr. Searches for evidence of current geological activity on Europa, such as plumes or surface changes, have yielded negative results to date. The current existence of a global subsurface ocean, while attractive in explaining the observations, remains inconclusive. Future geophysical measurements are essential to determine conclusively whether or not there is a liquid water ocean within Europa today.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets↗

USGS1996

Galileo photometry of asteroid 243 Ida

Galileo imaging observations over phase angles 19.5?? to 109.8?? are combined with near-opposition Earth-based data to derive the photometric properties of Ida. To first order these properties are uniform over the surface and well modeled at ?? = 0.55 ??m by Hapke parameters ????0 = 0.22, h = 0.020, B0 = 1.5, g = -0.33, and ?? = 18?? with corresponding geometric albedo p = 0.21??0.030.01 and Bond albedo AB = 0.081??0.0170.008. Ida's photometric properties are more similar to those of "average S-asteroids" (P. Helfenstein and J. Veverka 1989, Asteroids II, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson) than are those of 951 Gaspra. Two primary color units are identified on Ida: Terrain A exhibits a spectrum with relatively shallower 1-??m absorption and a relatively steeper red spectral slope than average Ida, while Terrain B has a deeper 1-??m absorption and a less steep red slope. The average photometric properties of Ida and Terrain A are similar while those of Terrain B differ mostly in having a slightly higher value of ????0 (0.22 versus 0.21), suggesting that Terrain B consists of slightly brighter, more transparent regolith particles. Galileo observations of Ida's satellite Dactyl over phase angles 19.5?? to 47.6?? suggest photometric characteristics similar to those of Ida, the major difference being Dactyl's slightly lower albedo (0.20 compared to 0.21). ?? 1990 Academic Press, Inc.

Icarus↗

USGS1996

Ida and Dactyl: Spectral reflectance and color variations

Galileo SSI color data between 0.4 and 1.0 ??m demonstrate that both Ida and Dactyl are S-type asteroids with similar, but distinct spectra. Small but definite color variations are also observed on Ida itself and involve both the blue part of the spectrum and the depth of the 1-??m pyroxene-olivine band. Ida's surface can be classified into two color terrains: Terrain A has a shallower 1-??m absorption and a steeper visible red slope than does Terrain B. Qualitatively, the color-albedo systematics of these two terrains follow those noted for color units on Gaspra and the variations in 1-??m band depth with weathering described by Gaffey et al. (Gaffey, M. J., J. F. Bell, R. H. Brown, T. H. Burbine, J. Piatek, K. L. Reed, and D. A. Chaky 1993. Icarus 106, 573-602). Terrain A, with its slightly lower albedo, its shallower 1-??m band, and its slightly steeper visible red slope relative to Terrain B could be interpreted as the "more processed," "more mature," or the "more weathered" of the two terrains. Consistent with this interpretation is that Terrain A appears to be the ubiquitous background on most of Ida, while Terrain B is correlated with some small craters as well as with possible ejecta from the 10-km Azzurra impact structure. Because of these trends, it is less likely that differences between Terrains A and B are caused by an original compositional inhomogeneity within the body of Ida, although they do fall within the range known to occur within the Koronis family. The spectrum of Dactyl is similar to, but definitely different from, that of Terrain B on Ida. It does not conform to the pattern that obtains between the colors and albedos of Terrains A and B: the satellite's 1-??m band is deeper than that of Terrain B, but its albedo is lower, rather than higher. By itself, the deeper band depth could be interpreted, following Gaffey et al., to mean that Dactyl is a less weathered version of Terrain B on Ida, but such an interpretation is at odds with Dactyl's redder spectral slope. Thus, the explanation for the color difference between Dactyl and Ida is likely to be different from that which accounts for the differences between the two terrains on Ida. Given that Dactyl and Ida have very similar photometric properties (Helfenstein, P., J. Veverka, P. C. Thomas, D. P. Simonelli, K. Klassen, T. V. Johnson, F. Fanale, J. Granahan, A. S. McEwen, M. J. S. Belton, and C. R. Chapman 1996 Icarus 120, 48-65), thus ruling out any dramatic texture differences between the two surfaces, the most likely explanation is that the satellite has a slightly different composition (more pyroxene?) than Ida. The spectral difference is within the range reported by Binzel et al. (Binzel, R. P., S. Xu, and S. J. Bus 1993. Icarus 106, 608-611.) for members of the Koronis family, and could be caused by compositional inhomogeneities of the Koronis parent body rather than by post-breakup regolith processes. ?? 1996 Academic Press, Inc.

Icarus↗

USGS1994

Galileo Photometry of Asteroid 951 Gaspra

Galileo images of Gaspra make it possible for the first time to determine a main-belt asteroid's photometric properties accurately by providing surface-resolved coverage over a wide range of incidence and emission angles and by extending the phase angle coverage to phases not observable from Earth. We combine Earth-based telescopic photometry over phase angles 2° ≤ α ≤ 25° with Galileo whole-disk and disk-resolved data at 33° ≤ α ≤ 51° to derive average global photometric properties in terms of Hapke's photometric model. The microscopic texture and particle phase-function behavior of Gaspra's surface are remarkably like those of other airless rocky bodies such as the Moon. The macroscopic surface roughness parameter, θ̄ = 29°, is slightly larger than that reported for typical lunar materials. The particle single scattering albedo, ώ 0 = 0.36 ± 0.07, is significantly larger than for lunar materials, and the opposition surge amplitude, B 0 = 1.63 ± 0.07, is correspondingly smaller. We determine a visual geometric albedo p v = 0.22 ± 0.06 for Gaspra, in close agreement with p v = 0.22 ± 0.03 estimated from Earth-based observations. Gaspra's phase integral is 0.47, and the bolometric Bond albedo is estimated to be 0.12 ± 0.03. An albedo map derived by correcting Galileo images with our average global photometric function reveals subdued albedo contrasts of ±10% or less over Gaspra's northern hemisphere. Several independent classification algorithms confirm the subtle spectral heterogeneity reported earlier (S. Mottola, M. DiMartino, M. Gonano-Beurer, H. Hoffman, and G. Neukum, 1993, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, pp. 421-424; M. J. S. Belton et al ., 1992, Science 257, 1647-1652). Whole-disk colors (0.41 ≤ λ ≤ 0.99 μm) vary systematically with longitude by about ±5%, but color differences as large as 30% occur locally. Colors vary continuously between end-member materials whose areal distribution correlates with regional topography. Infrared: violet (0.99:0.41-μm) color ratios on Gaspra are strongly correlated with local elevation, being largest at lower elevations and smaller at higher elevations. No correlation was detected between elevation and the green:violet (0.56:0.41-μm) color ratio. Bright materials with a strong 1-μm absorption occur primarily in association with craters along ridges, while darker materials with 30% weaker 1-μm signatures occur downslope. The variations of color and albedo cannot be easily explained by grain-size effects alone or by differences in photometric geometry. The trends observed are consistent with those revealed by laboratory studies of the effects of comminution, glass formation, and segregation of metal from silicate components in chondritic meteorites and also in some silicate mixtures. The relative importance of these various processes on Gaspra remains to be determined.

Icarus↗

USGS1992

Galileo encounter with 951 Gaspra: First pictures of an asteroid

Galileo images of Gaspra reveal it to be an irregularly shaped object (19 by 12 by 11 kilometers) that appears to have been created by a catastrophic collisional disruption of a precursor parent body. The cratering age of the surface is about 200 million years. Subtle albedo and color variations appear to correlate with morphological features: Brighter materials are associated with craters especially along the crests of ridges, have a stronger 1-micrometer absorption, and may represent freshly excavated mafic materials; darker materials exhibiting a significantly weaker 1-micrometer absorption appear concentrated in interridge areas. One explanation of these patterns is that Gaspra is covered with a thin regolith and that some of this material has migrated downslope in some areas.

Science↗

USGS1991

Images from Galileo of the Venus cloud deck

Images of Venus taken at 418 (violet) and 986 [near-infrared (NIR)] nanometers show that the morphology and motions of large-scale features change with depth in the cloud deck. Poleward meridional velocities, seen in both spectral regions, are much reduced in the NIR. In the south polar region the markings in the two wavelength bands are strongly anticorrelated. The images follow the changing state of the upper cloud layer downwind of the subsolar point, and the zonal flow field shows a longitudinal periodicity that may be coupled to the formation of large-scale planetary waves. No optical lightning was detected.

Science↗