Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

2015 Edition
| Editors: Henrik Hargitai, Ákos Kereszturi

Furrow (Icy Moon)

Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_170
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Definition

Large-scale arcuate trough systems (Patterson et al. 2010) on icy moons.

Description

Ganymede: Flat-floored, U-shaped, or hummocky troughs with sharp raised rims that occur as sets of subconcentric or subradial structures in dark terrain and are typically 5–20 km wide (Shoemaker et al. 1982; Nimmo and Pappalardo 2004 and references therein, Prockter et al. 1998a) and 50–100 s km long. The floors of furrows are covered by the lowest albedo unit, as dark as in crater floors. Interfurrow spacing is ~50 km; slopes are 6–20° (Prockter et al. 1998a). Furrows form systems (fossae).

Callisto: Furrow rims are narrow and highly degraded (Prockter et al. 1998a), otherwise same as for Ganymede.

Formation

Ganymede:
  1. (1)

    (Generally accepted model) Tectonic  graben (fault-induced troughs) formed in an extensional regime caused by the collapse of a large impact into a relatively thin lithosphere early in Ganymede’s history (McKinnon and Melosh 1980; Shoemaker et al. 1982).

     
  2. (2)

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References

  1. Casacchia R, Strom RG (1984) Geologic evolution of the Galileo Regio, Ganymede. J Geophys Res 89(Suppl):B419–B428CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Murchie SL, Head JW, Plescia JB (1990) Tectonic and volcanic evolution of dark terrain and its implications for the internal structure and evolution of Ganymede. J Geophys Res 95(B7):10743–10768. doi:10.1029/JB095iB07p10743Google Scholar
  3. McKinnon WB, Melosh HJ (1980) Evolution of planetary lithospheres: Evidence from multiringed structures on Ganymede and Callisto. Icarus 44:454–471Google Scholar
  4. Nimmo F, Pappalardo RT (2004) Furrow flexure and ancient heat flux on Ganymede. Geophys Res Lett 31:L19701. doi:10.1029/2004GL020763CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Patterson GW, Collins GC, Head JW, Pappalardo RT, Prockter LM, Lucchitta BK, Kay JP (2010) Global geological mapping of Ganymede. Icarus 207:845–867CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Prockter LM, Head JW, Pappalardo RT, Senske DA, Neukum G et al (1998a) Dark terrain on Ganymede: geological mapping and interpretation of Galileo Regio at high resolution. Icarus 135:317–344CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Prockter LM, Senske D, Head III JW, Pappalardo RT, Collins G, Greeley R et al (1998b) Furrow systems on Ganymede: morphology, evolution and distribution. Lunar Planet Sci XXIX:#1862, HoustonGoogle Scholar
  8. Schenk PM, McKinnon WB (1987) Ring geometry on Ganymede and Callisto. Icarus 72:209–234CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Shoemaker EM, Lucchitta BK, Plescia JB, Squyres SW, Wilhemps DE (1982) The geology of Ganymede. In: Morrison D (ed) Satellites of Jupiter. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 435–520Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics LaboratoryLaurelUSA