Estimating the 3D structure of the Enceladus ice shell from flexural and
Crary waves
Abstract
A seismic investigation on Saturn’s moon Enceladus could determine the
thickness of the ice shell, along with variations from the mean
thickness, by recovering phase and group velocities, and through the
frequency content of surface waves. Here, we model the Enceladus ice
shell with uniform thicknesses of 5 km, 20 km, and 40 km, as well as
with ice topography ranging from 5-40 km. We investigate several
approaches for recovering the mean ice shell thickness. We show that
surface wave dispersions could be used to determine the mean ice shell
thickness. Flexural waves in the ice only occur if the shell is thinner
than a critical value < 20 km. Rayleigh waves dominate only in
thicker ice shells. The frequency content of Crary waves depends on the
ice shell thickness.