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Cryovolcanism

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

Definition

Cryovolcanism is a volcanic phenomenon that occurs in environments with extremely low temperature. There, instead of molten silicates, cryovolcanoes erupt liquid water, methane, ammonia, or sulfur dioxide onto the icy surface of a planet or satellite. It has been observed on several satellites of the outer Solar System. In particular, active cryovolcanism has been discovered at the surface of Io, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean satellite, and on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s satellites. Traces of cryovolcanism are also found on Titan and Triton. Apart from Io’s volcanoes from which sulfur dioxide (SO2) is outgassed, cryovolcanism generally erupts water (H2O), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3). Cryovolcanism could also be present on other outer satellites and trans-Neptunian objects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire de Paris – Section de Meudon, LESIA – Bâtiment ISO (n°17), 5, Place Jules Janssen, 2195, Meudon, France

    Therese Encrenaz

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  1. Therese Encrenaz
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Correspondence to Therese Encrenaz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Encrenaz, T. (2014). Cryovolcanism. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_372-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_372-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Cryovolcanism
    Published:
    21 July 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_372-3

  2. Original

    Cryovolcanism
    Published:
    30 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_372-2

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