Author

Caleb Strom

Date of Award

December 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Space Studies

First Advisor

Sherry K. Fieber-Beyer

Abstract

Ahuna Mons is one of the most distinctive features on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres and shows evidence of cryovolcanic activity on a main belt object in the geologically recent past. Ahuna Mons is unusual, however, in that it has a higher aspect ratio and sharper features than other candidate domes on Ceres. It also stands apart from cryovolcanic features identified on other suspected cryovolcanic worlds like Miranda and Ariel, where cryovolcanism is associated with double ridges and potential plume activity. In this work, dome age, based on crater counting, and aspect ratio are compared through correlative analysis to investigate the cause of the morphological distinctiveness of Ahuna Mons compared to other domes on Ceres and its implications for the Cerean interior structure and its evolution. The interior structure and evolution of Miranda and Ariel are also investigated through stress modeling and comparison with geologic structure mapping to evaluate the role that interior structure and evolution plays in creating a diversity of cryovolcanic styles through comparison with Ceres. The results of this research suggest Ahuna Mons is distinctive because of being less ice-rich in composition, thus less prone to viscous relaxation, implying a relatively strong crust and cryomagma of brine-phyllosilicate composition. In contrast, the results for Miranda and Ariel are consistent with thin pure ice crusts shaped by tidal stresses, which yield a pure brine cryomagma. This supports differences in interior structure and evolution playing a significant role in the variation of cryovolcanic styles across icy bodies.

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