Subsurface Oceans on Icy Moons Could Experience Boiling Due to Tidal Heating Recent research from the University of California - Davis suggests that icy moons in the outer solar system may be more geologically active than previously thought. Tidal forces from massive planets can cause ice shells on moons such as Enceladus, Mimas, and Miranda to melt from below. When this happens, the drop in pressure could lead to the boiling of hidden subsurface oceans. On smaller moons like Mimas and Enceladus, the pressure decrease may reach the triple point of water, where ice, liquid, and vapor coexist, potentially explaining unusual surface features such as Enceladus' 'tiger stripes' and Miranda's towering cliffs known as coronae. The study emphasizes that moon size affects these processes: larger moons like Titania may experience ice cracking before reaching the triple point, while smaller moons may have hidden oceans that remain undetectable at the surface. These findings provide new insights into the internal dynamics of icy moons and help explain the variety of geological structures observed. The research was led by Max Rudolph with contributions from Michael Manga, Alyssa Rhoden, and Matthew Walker, and was partly supported by NASA.

Subsurface Oceans on Icy Moons Could Experience Boiling Due to Tidal Heating

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