Greifswald 2024 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 2: Planets in their Environment

EP 2.7: Talk

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 16:15–16:30, ELP 1: HS 1.22

Detectability of Local Water Reservoirs in Europa's Surface Layer Under Consideration of Coupled Induction — •Jason Winkenstern and Joachim Saur — Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Jupiter's icy moon Europa is a primary target for the study of ocean worlds. Its subsurface ocean is expected to be subject to asymmetries on global scales (tidal heating) and local scales (chaos regions, fractures). We approximate local asymmetries by considering a reservoir of liquid water entrapped in Europa's icy crust and investigate the possibility to resolve the resulting induced magnetic field of such a small-scale body with magnetometer measurements. The consideration of two conductive bodies introduces non-linear magnetic field coupling between them, for which we develop an analytical model to describe these coupling processes. With the Europa Clipper spacecraft launching this year, we calculate the induction response at 25 km altitude to assess detectability with the next generation's mission. Additionally, we investigate the detectability at Europa's surface to motivate a potential future lander mission.

Keywords: Interior; Europa; Electromagentic Induction