Surface Processes on Active Icy Worlds

Session ID#: 122303

Session Description:
The extreme conditions and exotic ices on the surfaces of outer solar system bodies result in unique landscapes not commonly observed on rocky bodies. Sublimation of volatile ices controls the evolution of many icy world landscapes and has given rise to planetary climates, while tectonic and eruptive processes evolve ice shells, interacting with potentially habitable subsurface oceans. The many interrelations between these processes are only beginning to reveal themselves; as exploration of the outer solar system proceeds at a progressively rapid rate, the complexities of these worlds will continue to grow. To piece together these exotic planetary landscapes, will require investigations that incorporate increasingly diverse scientific techniques and collaboration between the many sub-communities studying icy worlds – from those who study comets, to Arrokoth, and everything in between. We invite contributions ranging in focus from comparative planetology and remote sensing, to laboratory and analog studies, to theoretical and numerical modeling.
Index Terms:

5415 Erosion and weathering [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS]
6017 Erosion and weathering [PLANETARY SCIENCES: COMETS AND SMALL BODIES]
6020 Ices [PLANETARY SCIENCES: COMETS AND SMALL BODIES]
6207 Comparative planetology [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS]


Primary Convener:  Samuel Birch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, United States
Conveners:  Orkan M Umurhan, SETI Institute Mountain View, Mountain View, CA, United States, Marisa C Palucis, Dartmouth College, Department of Earth Sciences, Hanover, NH, United States and Alexander M Morgan, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Samuel Birch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, United States
See more of: Planetary Sciences