Replacement and late formation of atmospheric N2 on undifferentiated Titan by impacts

Saturn’s moon, Titan, has remarkable surface features—a massive N2 atmosphere and hydrological cycle of CH4—that are often compared with that of Earth^1^. However, the origin and evolution of Titan’s atmosphere remains largely unknown. The proposed formation mechanisms for Titan’s N2 require a prolonged, warm proto-atmosphere during accretion^2-4^. These mechanisms accordingly would not have worked efficiently if Titan stayed cold, as indicated by the incompletely differentiated interior observed by Cassini^5^. Because formation of a massive secondary atmosphere on a planetary body would associate with a major differentiation of its sold body during accretion^6–8^, the presence of such an atmosphere on undifferentiated cold Titan poses a serious dilemma on our view of how planetary bodies develop atmospheres. Here we propose a new mechanism for the post-accretion formation of Titan’s N2 to resolve this problem: conversion and replenishment of N2 from NH3 contained in Titan by impacts during the late heavy bombardment (LHB)^9^. Our results show that Titan, regardless of its thermal history, would acquire sufficient N2 to account for the current atmosphere during the LHB and that most of the pre-LHB atmosphere would have replaced by impact-induced N2. This is the first scenario capable of generating a N2-rich and nearly primordial Ar-free atmosphere on undifferentiated cold Titan. We also suggest that Titan’s N2 was delivered from a different source in the solar nebula compared with Earth and that the origins of N2 on Titan and Triton are fundamentally different with that of N2 on Pluto

Giant impacts in the Saturnian System: a possible origin of diversity in the inner mid-sized satellites

It is widely accepted that Titan and the mid-sized regular satellites around Saturn were formed in the circum-Saturn disk. Thus, if these mid-sized satellites were simply accreted by collisions of similar ice-rock satellitesimals in the disk, the observed wide diversity in density (i.e., the rock fraction) of the Saturnian mid-sized satellites is enigmatic. A recent circumplanetary disk model suggests satellite growth in an actively supplied circumplanetary disk, in which Titan-sized satellites migrate inward by interaction with the gas and are eventually lost to the gas planet. Here we report numerical simulations of giant impacts between Titan-sized migrating satellites and smaller satellites in the inner region of the Saturnian disk. Our results suggest that in a giant impact with impact velocity > 1.4 times the escape velocity and impact angle of ~45 degree, a smaller satellite is destroyed, forming multiple mid-sized satellites with a very wide diversity in satellite density (the rock fraction = 0-92 wt%). Our results of the relationship between the mass and rock fraction of the satellites resulting from giant impacts reproduce the observations of the Saturnian mid-sized satellites. Giant impacts also lead to internal melting of the formed mid-sized satellites, which would initiate strong tidal dissipation and geological activity, such as those observed on Enceladus today and Tethys in the past. Our findings also imply that giant impacts might have affected the fundamental physical property of the Saturnian mid-sized satellites as well as those of the terrestrial planets in the solar system and beyond.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, Planetary and Space Science, in pres

衛星エンセラダスと宇宙物質科学

土星の第２衛星であるエンセラダス（Enceladus）は、宇宙物質科学の観点から興味深い対象である。その特筆すべき魅力は、「定常的なエネルギー、水、有機物」という極めて重要な物質進化的要素が揃っている点である。また、衛星の内部構造形成論の観点からも議論が尽きない。氷地殻の下には、液体の水、すなわち、「海の存在」が強く示唆されている。ホットスポットから噴出しているジェットプルームは、ナトリウム塩やケイ酸塩のみならず、種々の有機物を含んでいる。エンセラダスは、新しく深宇宙探査の時代を迎えようとする我々人類にサンプルアクセスの好機を提供している、と表現することもできる。本章では、エンセラダス内部に秘められた地質学的特徴について概説し、海水のプルームが意味するもの、そして、次世代の宇宙物質科学が目指す展望の一つを述べる。山岸明彦

Detection of phosphates originating from Enceladus’s ocean

Saturn’s moon Enceladus harbours a global1 ice-covered water ocean2,3. The Cassini spacecraft investigated the composition of the ocean by analysis of material ejected into space by the moon’s cryovolcanic plume4,5,6,7,8,9. The analysis of salt-rich ice grains by Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer10 enabled inference of major solutes in the ocean water (Na+, K+, Cl–, HCO3–, CO32–) and its alkaline pH3,11. Phosphorus, the least abundant of the bio-essential elements12,13,14, has not yet been detected in an ocean beyond Earth. Earlier geochemical modelling studies suggest that phosphate might be scarce in the ocean of Enceladus and other icy ocean worlds15,16. However, more recent modelling of mineral solubilities in Enceladus’s ocean indicates that phosphate could be relatively abundant17. Here we present Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer mass spectra of ice grains emitted by Enceladus that show the presence of sodium phosphates. Our observational results, together with laboratory analogue experiments, suggest that phosphorus is readily available in Enceladus’s ocean in the form of orthophosphates, with phosphorus concentrations at least 100-fold higher in the moon’s plume-forming ocean waters than in Earth’s oceans. Furthermore, geochemical experiments and modelling demonstrate that such high phosphate abundances could be achieved in Enceladus and possibly in other icy ocean worlds beyond the primordial CO2 snowline, either at the cold seafloor or in hydrothermal environments with moderate temperatures. In both cases the main driver is probably the higher solubility of calcium phosphate minerals compared with calcium carbonate in moderately alkaline solutions rich in carbonate or bicarbonate ions

Pluto’s ocean is capped by gas hydrates

Many icy solar system bodies possess subsurface oceans. At Pluto, Sputnik Planitia’s location near the equator suggests the presence of a subsurface ocean and a locally thinned ice shell. To maintain an ocean, Pluto needs to retain heat inside. On the other hand, to maintain large variations in ice shell thickness, Pluto’s ice shell needs to be cold. Achieving such an interior structure is problematic. Here we show that the presence of a thin layer of clathrate hydrates (gas hydrates) at the base of the ice shell can explain both the long-term survival of the ocean and the maintenance of shell thickness contrasts. Clathrate hydrates act as a thermal insulator, preventing the ocean from complete freezing while keeping the ice shell cold and immobile. The most likely clathrate guest gas is methane either contained in precursor bodies and/or produced by cracking of organic materials in the hot rocky core. Nitrogen molecules initially contained and/or produced later in the core would likely not be trapped as clathrate hydrates, instead supplying the nitrogen-rich surface and atmosphere. The formation of a thin clathrate hydrate layer capping a subsurface ocean may be an important generic mechanism maintaining long-lived subsurface oceans in relatively large but minimally-heated icy satellites and Kuiper Belt Objects

Anomalous negative excursion of carbon isotope in organic carbon after the last Paleoproterozoic glaciation in North America

Early Paleoproterozoic time (2.5–2.0 Ga) spanned a critical phase in Earth's history, characterized by repeated glaciations and an increase in atmospheric oxygen (the Great Oxidation Event (GOE)). Following the last and most intense glaciation of this period, marine carbonates record a large positive excursion of δ^(13)C value (termed the “Lomagundi event”) between about 2.2 and 2.1 Ga coinciding with the global appearances of red beds and sulfates, which suggest an accumulation of high levels of atmospheric oxygen. Here we report the discovery of large negative excursions of δ^(13)C in organic matter (down to −55‰) from quartzose sandstones (of the Marquette Range and the Huronian Supergroups, North America) intermediate in age between the last Paleoproterozoic glaciation and the possible onset of the Lomagundi event. The negative excursion is concomitant with the appearance of intensely weathered quartzose sandstones, which may represent hot and humid conditions. There are some interpretations that potentially explain the negative excursions: (1) redeposition of older ^(13)C-depleted kerogen, (2) later post-depositional infiltration of oil, (3) active methane productions by methanogens in shallow-marine environments, or (4) dissociation of methane hydrate. If the latter two were the case, they would provide clues for understanding the environmental change connecting the intense glaciation and an increase in oxygen

Experimental and Simulation Efforts in the Astrobiological Exploration of Exooceans

The icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are perhaps the most promising places in the Solar System regarding habitability. However, the potential habitable environments are hidden underneath km-thick ice shells. The discovery of Enceladus’ plume by the Cassini mission has provided vital clues in our understanding of the processes occurring within the interior of exooceans. To interpret these data and to help configure instruments for future missions, controlled laboratory experiments and simulations are needed. This review aims to bring together studies and experimental designs from various scientific fields currently investigating the icy moons, including planetary sciences, chemistry, (micro-)biology, geology, glaciology, etc. This chapter provides an overview of successful in situ, in silico, and in vitro experiments, which explore different regions of interest on icy moons, i.e. a potential plume, surface, icy shell, water and brines, hydrothermal vents, and the rocky core