Episodic Plate Tectonics on Europa: Evidence for Widespread Patches of Mobile-Lid Behavior in the Antijovian Hemisphere.

ABSTRACT: A nearly pole-to-pole survey near 140°E longitude on Europa revealed many areas that exhibit past lateral surface motions, and these areas were examined to determine whether the motions can be described by systems of rigid plates moving across Europa's surface. Three areas showing plate-like behavior were examined in detail to determine the sequence of events that deformed the surface. All three areas were reconstructed to reveal the original pre-plate motion surfaces by performing multi-stage rotations of plates in spherical coordinates. Several motions observed along single plate boundaries were also noted in previous works, but this work links together isolated observations of lateral offsets into integrated systems of moving plates. Not all of the surveyed surface could be described by

SUBMITTER: Collins GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10078521 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature