July 26, 2018
Scientists discover portal to extra dimension
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Origin of black hole found on tile floor
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Gravity defying creature seen walking on ceilings
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Use the force Patrick Stewart, use the force
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After years of planetary abuse, one tree decides to fight back
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Just funnin, put your dentures back in
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Enough horsing around, lets get serious.
Pit or Crater Chains,
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<<<<<<<< Left image is an example of pits created by lava tubes. Below shows a variety of pit shapes found on Mars around the Tharsis Mons volcanic area. Lava tubes collapse to create type I, II and III pits. APC = Atypical Pit Chain 
Top row are three various shaped pits along thrust fault slips. Bottom three are type I, II & III typical of lava tubes.
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Above images obtained from this
paper related to pits and craters on Mars >>>>>>>>>> |
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Pit Chains
Thrust fault slip pit chains
Crater Chains
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Pit Chains differ from what were once identified as crater chains. Crater chains were thought to be a string of craters created by an impactor that broke apart upon impact, in turn, splattering debris in a straight linear pencil like line. This concept is relatively ridiculous when anyone looks at a splatter pattern created by impactors. Impactors don't create linear craters one after the other often touching.
The pit chain's key features of tapered conical slopes (not impact bowls), missing raised rims and missing central peaks were explained away by calling them secondary breakup debris. This idea expanded to include Shoemaker-Levy 9 type breakups that occurred as the result of gravitational stress prior to impact. This concept, while more palatable still does not fit the observed scene as great distances separate each object and they still don't line up precisely, on top of that, impactors leave craters with raised rims and central peaks while pit chain depressions don't have either. The pit chains also start out as conically shaped holes not bowls. Eventually we got it right by identifying these features as internal thrust fault processes not external impacts. Conically shaped pits within Pit Chains are important time scale indicators as they are young recently occurring processes and they exist on multiple solar system bodies. |
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Rounded based shaped pits in pit chains with rough eroded walls are older than steep conically shaped smooth walled pits.
Bad Astronomy article quote May 2011
When an asteroid or comet impacts a planet, the explosion ejects huge amounts of material, sending it flying in all directions. But there are also plumes of material, long fingers of rock and dust that stream out as well. The boulders and such inside this plume then fall back to the ground, making linear chains of secondary craters. We see lots of these on our Moon, moons in the outer solar system, and Mercury, too.
Bad Astronomy article quote May 2011
When an asteroid or comet impacts a planet, the explosion ejects huge amounts of material, sending it flying in all directions. But there are also plumes of material, long fingers of rock and dust that stream out as well. The boulders and such inside this plume then fall back to the ground, making linear chains of secondary craters. We see lots of these on our Moon, moons in the outer solar system, and Mercury, too.
Mercury pit chains with linear aligned conically shaped merging pits
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This Bad Astronomy article incorrectly explains how these pit chain features are crater chains formed by an impactor.
The article uses this X marks the spot series of pit chains on Mercury as evidence of crater chains but in 2016 T. Watters et al., correctly identifies these features. These pit chain features on Mercury were errantly identified as crater chains that were said to form from an impactor that broke up and somehow created a string of dozens of straight lined craters (without lateral ejecta) touching each other none of which had raised rims, internal peaks, rings or ejecta. Mercury is now known to be geologically active and is constricting (puckering its surface like a raisin). Thrust fault scarps were identified by the Mariner 10 probe, these thrust faults create pit chains as seen in this image of Mercury.
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Following, is how many of these crater chains are described.
The irregular shape of the crater rims and tapered appearance suggests that these are not primary but rather secondary craters, formed from material ejected from a larger primary impact. Secondary material is invoked to explain the irregular shape of the crater rim and tapered appearance of these pits and reminders of Shoemaker-Levy 9 colliding with Jupiter are also invoked to support this errant interpretation of pit chains as impact crater chains. Crater chains do exist but often times thrust fault pit chains are misinterpreted as impact crater chains. The more accurate explanation for many these features is the one given by Ferrill et al., 2004. The irregular shape, lack of rim, lack of central peak, lack of ejecta and tapered conical appearance occur as thrust faults slip or slide past each other creating subsurface voids where loosely dispersed surface regolith/dirt debris sinks inward to form these "tapered appearance" sink holes. |
Various pit chain forming mechanism E. Martin et al., 2017
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The ice cream cone shape of the pits is an indication of both age and loosely compacted surface material. Cone shaped pits mean the process is very recent and the material is sandy(ish).
Ceres Old Pit Chains
These are old pit chains identified by regolith covered, wall erosion and rounded base (less conical) pit holes.
Pit Chains on Ceres https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22086
Earth, Iceland Young Pit Chains
Pit Chains on Earth Iceland https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news-detail.html?id=7196
Mars Young Pit Chains
D. Ferrill et al., 2004 produced a paper related to Pit Chains on Mars. Quote Based on these analyses, we conclude that pit chains form in response to dilational fault slip. Pit craters lack a raised crater rim or ejecta deposits, form alignments (chains), and are likely the result of collapse of loose surface material into a subsurface void... The close association of pit crater chains with faulting on Mars indicates that some Martian faults produce considerable subsurface void space... We conclude that pit chains form in response to fault slip and dilation, consistent with the interpretation of active faulting on Mars.... |
Ferrill et al., Figure 1
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We interpret these as being youthful pits where surface subsidence has not progressed so far as to have destroyed the original surface of in-falling material... Several large pits appear to have conical forms with no evidence of wall erosion or sediment accumulation. These observations suggest that the pit craters are among the youngest features on Mars. I added the red and blue text to their Figure 2B image. >>>> This is how I imagine some of the material on Pluto east of SP is layered forming its own version of pit chains from subsurface thrust fault slippage and dilation. |
Ferrill Figure 2
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Ferrill performed experiments with soft surface granular material on top of movable plates, as the plates were slowly slipped apart, pit chains developed. >>>>>>>>>>
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Ferrill et al., presented this series of three images (below) of Iceland pit chains that developed from 1958 to 1984 (26 years).
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Lower right section of panel D vs C developed pits in 8 years.
Iceland was created as two deep crustal continental plates pulled apart and magma spilling out. Iceland's land mass is the cooled frozen magma which arose from deep in the planet. Pit Chains have emerged on the surface where near surface fractures develop. The formation of Iceland is a deep older hot process the pit chains are a shallow younger colder crack slippage process . That's not to say Iceland isn't a volcanically hot zone, it is but its pit chains are not. The above pit chains are developing on Iceland along the northern portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in response to very shallow dilation and/or fracture formation and possibly thrust fault slippage. This is a geologically young recent process. |
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| pit_chains_on_enceladus_signal_the_recent_tectonic_dissection_of_the_ancient_cratered_terrains_201737ce.pdf |
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According to this above paper by E. Martin et al., pit chains exist on
I sent an email to E. Martin asking her opinion about these pit chain features on Pluto. Hopefully she will reply. |
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Martin et al., quote
Pit chains can be produced by the opening of mode I tension fractures (i.e., joints) or along high-angle normal faults beneath a loose unconsolidated regolith. Both extension fracturing and dilational faulting result in subsurface voids into which loose material on the surface can drain, creating linear assemblages of pits. Drainage of regolith into open fractures was proposed as a mechanism for the chains of pits on Phobos and Mars. The results of analog models ( Ferrill et al., 2004 ) supported the pit chain evolution proposed by Wyrick et al. (2004), suggesting that individual, isolated pits are the first features to form in the regolith as it begins to drain into the void created by dilation of a fracture at the surface.
Model results showed that continued dilation at the surface caused individual pits to increase in diameter and ellipticity prior to coalescing and forming partially merged pit chains. With continued dilation, pit chains further evolved into fully merged pit chains with scalloped edges, where individual pits could no longer be resolved. Both modeled pits and those observed on Enceladus lack elevated rims and demonstrate a continuum of morphologies, ranging from isolated pits to evenly spaced pits of similar size, to scalloped linear depressions created by merged pits. The strong morphological resemblance between analog models and the observed morphology of pit chains on Enceladus supports the interpretation that pit chains on Enceladus likely formed above dilated, extensional tectonic structures.
Regionally isolated linear and parallel sets of pit chains with distinct orientations on Enceladus are consistent with a spatially variable stress field; there is a variety of global and local stress mechanisms in which fractures may form parallel sets of fractures with regionally variable orientations. Furthermore, the parallel orientations of pit chains within individual sets suggest a common driving mechanism, stress field, and timing of formation. Extensional tectonics is a dominant process modifying the surfaces of the icy satellites of the outer solar system. For example, pit chains on Phobos (frequently called grooves) are likely the result of tidally induced extensional tectonics, forming fracture sets similar to those observed on Enceladus.
Parallel orientation of pit chains suggest a common driving mechanism and timing of formation...likely the result of tidally induced extensional tectonics.
Near surface young pit chains on icy bodies are frequently formed by tidal stresses. If tidal stresses are creating conically shaped smooth divot holed pit chains on Pluto then Pluto is most likely experiencing recent tidal flex in spite of its circular tidally locked orbit with Charon. If that's the case, what can possibly induce tidal flex stress on Pluto?
Pit chains can be produced by the opening of mode I tension fractures (i.e., joints) or along high-angle normal faults beneath a loose unconsolidated regolith. Both extension fracturing and dilational faulting result in subsurface voids into which loose material on the surface can drain, creating linear assemblages of pits. Drainage of regolith into open fractures was proposed as a mechanism for the chains of pits on Phobos and Mars. The results of analog models ( Ferrill et al., 2004 ) supported the pit chain evolution proposed by Wyrick et al. (2004), suggesting that individual, isolated pits are the first features to form in the regolith as it begins to drain into the void created by dilation of a fracture at the surface.
Model results showed that continued dilation at the surface caused individual pits to increase in diameter and ellipticity prior to coalescing and forming partially merged pit chains. With continued dilation, pit chains further evolved into fully merged pit chains with scalloped edges, where individual pits could no longer be resolved. Both modeled pits and those observed on Enceladus lack elevated rims and demonstrate a continuum of morphologies, ranging from isolated pits to evenly spaced pits of similar size, to scalloped linear depressions created by merged pits. The strong morphological resemblance between analog models and the observed morphology of pit chains on Enceladus supports the interpretation that pit chains on Enceladus likely formed above dilated, extensional tectonic structures.
Regionally isolated linear and parallel sets of pit chains with distinct orientations on Enceladus are consistent with a spatially variable stress field; there is a variety of global and local stress mechanisms in which fractures may form parallel sets of fractures with regionally variable orientations. Furthermore, the parallel orientations of pit chains within individual sets suggest a common driving mechanism, stress field, and timing of formation. Extensional tectonics is a dominant process modifying the surfaces of the icy satellites of the outer solar system. For example, pit chains on Phobos (frequently called grooves) are likely the result of tidally induced extensional tectonics, forming fracture sets similar to those observed on Enceladus.
Parallel orientation of pit chains suggest a common driving mechanism and timing of formation...likely the result of tidally induced extensional tectonics.
Near surface young pit chains on icy bodies are frequently formed by tidal stresses. If tidal stresses are creating conically shaped smooth divot holed pit chains on Pluto then Pluto is most likely experiencing recent tidal flex in spite of its circular tidally locked orbit with Charon. If that's the case, what can possibly induce tidal flex stress on Pluto?
Pluto Pit Chains
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Recently (page 100), I was studying Jason Cook's paper related to the various locations on Pluto where there are high concentrations of water ice.
My logic is that if the bedrock crust is water ice and there are concentrated clusters of water ice then those clusters should display signs of cryovolcanism or surface erosion. The Cook paper's image was blurry and I really wanted to see the terrain in detail at these crystalline water ice locations especially the very bright spot to the east of Sputnik Planitia (SP). I found some better quality images that were good but not quite good enough. The below image was just good enough to make out some land features which in turn allowed me to go to the next resolution level and finally see the detail at these specific locations to the east of SP. |
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| identification_and_distribution_of_pluto’s water ice |
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I have a really high resolution image of Pluto (largest I've seen) 8,000 x 8,000 pixels. Please feel free to download it as it allows you see details otherwise missed. >>>>>>>>>>
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Much of the detail in the below HiRes image gets muddled when I upload it to this web page. Here's a clear HiRes downloadable version. >>>>>>>>>
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All I needed to do now was transpose the areas in blue (on the Jason Cook blurry image above) east of SP onto the high resolution image and search for patterns like I did on page 100 with areas west of SP. I created the below image by combining the low res water ice signature image onto the high res image.
I've been doing this for about 3 years and the one thing I've learned about Pluto is she doesn't simply present one scenario. Nothing is ever black and white she always displays variations and shades of gray which is what a geologically active place should do. It would be nice to be able to say the presence of water ice in this location with these features indicates this one thing but Pluto just isn't that simple. There are variations in locations, features, colors and surroundings. Nothing is clear cut, simple and dry but there are some patterns that exist amoungst some of these features on Pluto as well as parallel counter parts on Mars, Ceres and Earth.
Pit Chains on Pluto
This pit chain displays multiple features. The blue lines are locations of the strongest water ice spectral signatures on Pluto. The large crater towards the left appears to be an impact crater as its edges are raised but there does not appear to be an ejecta pattern. I suppose one could argue the entire water ice signature is the ejecta pattern. Three or more pit chains appear to converge on this crater and one even cuts through the crater on a NE to SW diagonal pattern while another runs along the outside southern rim.
The fact that the pit chain runs inside the crater indicates the crater is older than the pit chain. There are very few impact craters on this eastern side of Sputnik Planitia as the surface appears to be soft enough to erase evidence of their features so the impact crater itself is geologically young and the pits within the impact crater are younger still.
I've always been fascinated by the long pit chain that runs from the SE toward the NW (red arrows) because it changes as it migrates from east to west. The eastern side is marked by smooth gray fluid looking material surrounding the mouths of the pits then you suddenly encounter a shear cliff face wall where the bedrock ice shows a clear sign of fracturing and at this exact point the material turns reddish and is marked by a water ice signature suggesting subsurface material is either venting or is exposed by erosion or some other process.
The gray material in the southern pit chain is not marked by a water ice signature but the gray material on the surface near the large impact crater is, suggesting the color of the material is not an indicator of water ice but then at other times the red tholin is definitely an indicator of the presence of water ice (one of those Pluto puzzles). The vast majority of times when water ice is detected, there is the clear presence of red tholins but this is one of those areas that defy normality.
The fact that the pit chain runs inside the crater indicates the crater is older than the pit chain. There are very few impact craters on this eastern side of Sputnik Planitia as the surface appears to be soft enough to erase evidence of their features so the impact crater itself is geologically young and the pits within the impact crater are younger still.
I've always been fascinated by the long pit chain that runs from the SE toward the NW (red arrows) because it changes as it migrates from east to west. The eastern side is marked by smooth gray fluid looking material surrounding the mouths of the pits then you suddenly encounter a shear cliff face wall where the bedrock ice shows a clear sign of fracturing and at this exact point the material turns reddish and is marked by a water ice signature suggesting subsurface material is either venting or is exposed by erosion or some other process.
The gray material in the southern pit chain is not marked by a water ice signature but the gray material on the surface near the large impact crater is, suggesting the color of the material is not an indicator of water ice but then at other times the red tholin is definitely an indicator of the presence of water ice (one of those Pluto puzzles). The vast majority of times when water ice is detected, there is the clear presence of red tholins but this is one of those areas that defy normality.
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This pit chain shows obvious red color (tholin hydrocarbons) changes associated with its water ice signature. >>>>>>>
The single larger pit has deep steep smooth walls (young). This also indicates the surface material is loose and granular similar to sand. As the bedrock below dilates and slips, the surface sandy sediment sinks into the cavity creating a sink hole pit. The sink hole either exposes the surface water ice that is otherwise covered by methane and/or nitrogen or is actively expelling subsurface particles of water ice. If the material was getting expelled it would likely disperse more broadly around the pit's rim. In this particular case it appears as though the water ice is simply exposed as the grains of sand slide down the pit wall grinding away at the surface veneer. Other pits and surface water ice signatures are totally different than this. |
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Sometimes erosion appears to describe the water signature while other times ejection seems to be a better description. But considering how small the water ice footprint is compared to the rest of this area east of SP, I think its safe to conclude that all water ice signatures are young by comparison. Most of the time there is also a red color associated with the water ice signature along with nearby smooth walled pits or pit chains but sometimes tholin appears to exist inside individual pits or even pit chains without a water ice signature and other times pits appear with no tholin (gray material) or water ice signature. |
The above pit chain appears to have no consistency to it, red and gray material falls outside the water signature areas. Within the water ice signature there is mostly a reddish colored tholin material. some of the pits are deep smooth walled some are just forming as little wet looking dots.
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This is one of the more difficult scenes to interpret. Everything in this area seems to want to defy definition.
There's a reddish raised mountain in a crater that could be an impact crater or a cryovolcano. The water signature around the mouth of this peak suggests volcano but the areas southward at 5 and 7 o-clock seem to tell a different story. The rim is raised and jagged indicating it's a young impact crater. The four pits off to the right are not colored red but display a strong water ice signature. They appear to be sink hole pits but have raised rims but are clearly not impact craters. There is an impact crater mostly colored whitish with a pinhole in the center but there is absolutely no water ice signature. This crater's rim is raised and smooth (eroded) indicating it is older than the red one above. There seems to be an area floating in SP that has red goose bumps, the central portion of which displays water ice. |
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On the opposite shore of SP (western side) there are slip fault fractures but no pit chains. >>>>>>>>> This indicates the surface material on the western side of SP is solid, hard, rigid while the material on the eastern side is more granular in nature.
This material on the eastern side of SP is more loosely compacted like sand. As subsurface fractures develop, the sandy material slips down creating smooth walled inverted cones.
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This is the bigger picture of pit chain faults. The red lines are pit chains and fault lines, the blue are where the faults are hidden by the frozen nitrogen fluid of SP. The fault line/pit chains migrate and disappear into SP or should I say the SP nitrogen fluid ice back fills into the fault lines as the two meet and merge.
Similar to Iceland, the entire eastern side of SP is geologically young but far older than the surface pit chains which are a reflection of more recent tidal stress flex faults. This entire eastern side of SP is fracturing and this is a very young and recent process, we aren't talking about tens of thousands of years for these surface features its more like tens of years similar to the processes taking place on Iceland's surface.
Similar to Iceland, the entire eastern side of SP is geologically young but far older than the surface pit chains which are a reflection of more recent tidal stress flex faults. This entire eastern side of SP is fracturing and this is a very young and recent process, we aren't talking about tens of thousands of years for these surface features its more like tens of years similar to the processes taking place on Iceland's surface.
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The area I outlined in blue is sorta like a bay but it is elevated with steps. So its not really a bay per se, its more like a lock with steps but the real point is that its all awash with soft gray nitrogen fluid ice material which has erased any surface topographic features as it migrates down into SP. This gray stuff is an ice not a liquid but it is in a far more fluid state than its surrounding land ice. In other words the pit chain thrust fault evidence is erased by this more fluid ice but, nevertheless, the faults are present in this area. Its similar to what takes place on Earth at fault lines where water back fills (in Pluto's case nitrogen) into the low elevation cracks creating lakes and rivers. These faults extend into SP and are the cause of its formation. These fractures migrate into SP and are deepest at the focal point where Charon's tidal bulge distorts Pluto as is noted by the lack of polygonal cells. |
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The more youthful and aggressively altered areas appear to display a strong water ice signature.
In the north pole area from 90° N down to about +30° N lat, the methane signature dominates and covers everything. Tartarus Dorsa (my desert dunes) is also covered in methane. The entire area east of SP from 0° to +30° N lat and 195° E to 240° E lon is covered in methane/nitrogen that is except the water ice dominant signatured areas. Look at and compare these below methane and water ice spectral signatures. Seasonal methane deposits dominate but water ice erases its signature in a few spots.
In the north pole area from 90° N down to about +30° N lat, the methane signature dominates and covers everything. Tartarus Dorsa (my desert dunes) is also covered in methane. The entire area east of SP from 0° to +30° N lat and 195° E to 240° E lon is covered in methane/nitrogen that is except the water ice dominant signatured areas. Look at and compare these below methane and water ice spectral signatures. Seasonal methane deposits dominate but water ice erases its signature in a few spots.
If Pluto's methane is snowing down atmospherically on a seasonal basis covering the surface then this exposed water ice along pit chains is extremely young certainly no more than a few tens of years. Its younger than the seasonally atmospherically laid down methane. I say this because there are signs of red tholin in this area that is slightly covered in methane snow but does not show the water ice signature.
My take on all this is that water ice primarily eroded off the walls of pits and pit chains but the water ice also chemically interacts with the red tholin. The methane snow, on a seasonal basis (248 years) covers over the water ice signature that is eroded at the pits. The remaining red tholin hydrocarbon residue is heated enough by the Sun to sublimate away thin layers of methane while the methane, on the other hand, removes the spectral evidence of water ice. In this scenario some of the slightly older pits show red tholin but not water ice spectra. The only pits that display water ice signatures are those that are really young, less than one season of methane snow. The red pits without a water ice signature are likely more than one season old but not more than two or three. Material that is more than two or three season gets covered in gray foggy nitrogen material. The smooth pit walls and the removal of methane from a few areas seem to support this idea.
There is one general pattern that holds true about 97% of the time. Wherever, there's red tholin on Pluto, there's a water ice signature. Wherever, there's methane covering the red tholin, the water signature is missing. All the exposed tholin tends to be contained in Pluto's Tropic zone. Currently Pluto's tropic zone extends from 53 degrees north latitude to 53 south which suggests the Suns energy is involved in exposing the red tholin or evaporating away the methane. Individual conically shaped pits without peaks or rims as well as pit chains that display red tholin material and an ice spectra signature is then the likely byproduct of erosion combined with sunlight due to granular material sliding down the walls of the pits rather than a process of warmer water ice ejecting from below the surface.
This has significant implications for both the time frame of these processes and the potential near subsurface structure and processes taking place on Pluto. Water ice is not acting as a subsurface magma creating hot lava tubes near the surface turning into pit chains. Nitrogen is the engine driving the geological process. This matters because it is an indicator of temperature and time requirements for driving Pluto's geology. If water ice is the engine driving geology then temperatures need to be much higher than if nitrogen is the engine. Steep sloped smooth walled conical shaped pits with water ice exposed signatures in an otherwise predominantly seasonally covered methane surface indicates extremely young recent thrust fault relatively cold near surface cracking ice processes at play.
These processes don't appear to be created by a radiogenic hot core creating a deep relatively hot (180 to 240 K) water based ocean forming a magma, instead they are near surface nitrogen, low energy tidal flex and surface tholin along with Tropical zone sunlight heat driven processes. Hot and cold are relative terms, a water based ammonia infused ocean would need to be at least 175- 180 K to be liquid while nitrogen would need to be 65 K to be liquid. At 65 K, nitrogen is cold compared to a theoretical ocean but hot compared to Pluto's surrounding atmosphere or surface temperatures or surface bedrock water ice lithosphere. In a recent page I called the surface fractures a hot (active) process as I was comparing them to a 150 km deep freezing (dormant) process. Whereas, now I'm calling them a cold (dormant) stress fracture process as I am comparing them with the temperature required for a hot (active) water based liquid ocean's temperature. Around Elliot and Bread Slice craters N2 is active (more energetic, hot) on this eastern side of SP fracturing is more of a subtle (less energetic cold) bedrock ice shifting process.
Pluto is precessing, slowly twisting, torquing and dragging its moons in a 24 degree circle (wobbles) it also likely nutates rapidly (wiggles as it wobbles). Torquing its moons along for the ride very likely creates tidal flex stress which in turn generates a small amount of friction heat between near surface bedrock ice layers which is just enough to push nitrogen to its fluid or even liquid state which is centrifugally primarily focused on the anti-Charon side which in turn creates a skin that slips and fractures creating thrust faults which in turn create cold pit chain fractures and hot active nitrogen cryovolcanoes. I am still not convinced there is an ocean of liquid water or a hot core.
My take on all this is that water ice primarily eroded off the walls of pits and pit chains but the water ice also chemically interacts with the red tholin. The methane snow, on a seasonal basis (248 years) covers over the water ice signature that is eroded at the pits. The remaining red tholin hydrocarbon residue is heated enough by the Sun to sublimate away thin layers of methane while the methane, on the other hand, removes the spectral evidence of water ice. In this scenario some of the slightly older pits show red tholin but not water ice spectra. The only pits that display water ice signatures are those that are really young, less than one season of methane snow. The red pits without a water ice signature are likely more than one season old but not more than two or three. Material that is more than two or three season gets covered in gray foggy nitrogen material. The smooth pit walls and the removal of methane from a few areas seem to support this idea.
There is one general pattern that holds true about 97% of the time. Wherever, there's red tholin on Pluto, there's a water ice signature. Wherever, there's methane covering the red tholin, the water signature is missing. All the exposed tholin tends to be contained in Pluto's Tropic zone. Currently Pluto's tropic zone extends from 53 degrees north latitude to 53 south which suggests the Suns energy is involved in exposing the red tholin or evaporating away the methane. Individual conically shaped pits without peaks or rims as well as pit chains that display red tholin material and an ice spectra signature is then the likely byproduct of erosion combined with sunlight due to granular material sliding down the walls of the pits rather than a process of warmer water ice ejecting from below the surface.
This has significant implications for both the time frame of these processes and the potential near subsurface structure and processes taking place on Pluto. Water ice is not acting as a subsurface magma creating hot lava tubes near the surface turning into pit chains. Nitrogen is the engine driving the geological process. This matters because it is an indicator of temperature and time requirements for driving Pluto's geology. If water ice is the engine driving geology then temperatures need to be much higher than if nitrogen is the engine. Steep sloped smooth walled conical shaped pits with water ice exposed signatures in an otherwise predominantly seasonally covered methane surface indicates extremely young recent thrust fault relatively cold near surface cracking ice processes at play.
These processes don't appear to be created by a radiogenic hot core creating a deep relatively hot (180 to 240 K) water based ocean forming a magma, instead they are near surface nitrogen, low energy tidal flex and surface tholin along with Tropical zone sunlight heat driven processes. Hot and cold are relative terms, a water based ammonia infused ocean would need to be at least 175- 180 K to be liquid while nitrogen would need to be 65 K to be liquid. At 65 K, nitrogen is cold compared to a theoretical ocean but hot compared to Pluto's surrounding atmosphere or surface temperatures or surface bedrock water ice lithosphere. In a recent page I called the surface fractures a hot (active) process as I was comparing them to a 150 km deep freezing (dormant) process. Whereas, now I'm calling them a cold (dormant) stress fracture process as I am comparing them with the temperature required for a hot (active) water based liquid ocean's temperature. Around Elliot and Bread Slice craters N2 is active (more energetic, hot) on this eastern side of SP fracturing is more of a subtle (less energetic cold) bedrock ice shifting process.
Pluto is precessing, slowly twisting, torquing and dragging its moons in a 24 degree circle (wobbles) it also likely nutates rapidly (wiggles as it wobbles). Torquing its moons along for the ride very likely creates tidal flex stress which in turn generates a small amount of friction heat between near surface bedrock ice layers which is just enough to push nitrogen to its fluid or even liquid state which is centrifugally primarily focused on the anti-Charon side which in turn creates a skin that slips and fractures creating thrust faults which in turn create cold pit chain fractures and hot active nitrogen cryovolcanoes. I am still not convinced there is an ocean of liquid water or a hot core.
| pluto_pits_and_mantles_on_uplands_north_and_east_of_sputnik_planitia.pdf |
Just came across this paper by NASA scientists related to this subject of pits and tectonics on Pluto.
Haven't read the whole article yet but it has really nice images.
Haven't read the whole article yet but it has really nice images.