Numerical study of tides in the subsurface oceans of icy satellites, with a particular focus on Saturn's moon Titan

Details

Supervisors

Deleersnijder, Eric

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en mathématiques appliquées

Abstract

Rocky moons like the Moon are the most famous moons in general culture. However, there exist others types such as the icy moons. As their name suggests, they are celestial bodies mainly composed of ice. Their crust and others internal layers are made of ice. Titan, Europa or Ganymede are a few examples. Nevertheless, recent research discovered that a global subsurface ocean stand below the crust of some. The existence of such oceans is quite surprising given the low prevailing temperature at their surface. One of the principal hypotheses for the heat source comes from the tides of these ocean. More precisely, the kinetic energy dissipation generated by the tidal motion should help maintaining the ocean liquid. Moreover, the dissipations could influence some orbital parameters. Therefore, studying these tides is important. In this master's thesis, the interest is brought to Titan. A numerical study of the tidal motion will be done in function of the nature of the crust. Using the Second-generation Louvain-la-Neuve Ice-ocean Model created by professors of the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, the elevation and others characteristics of the tidal flow are generated in function of the model for the icy crust. A parametric study is then made. The parameters depends on the model of the surface. This study will show how the characteristics of Titan can influence the tidal motion