Endogenic heat at Enceladus' north pole

Journal article

The long-term survival of Enceladus' ocean depends on the balance between heat production and heat loss. To date, the only place where a direct measurement of Enceladus's heat loss has been made is at the south pole. Here, we show that the north pole also emits heat at a greater rate than can be explained by purely passive models. By comparing winter and summer observations taken with the Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer, we find a winter temperature ~7 kelvin warmer than passive modeling predicts, accounting for uncertainties in emissivity and thermal inertia. An additional endogenic heat flux of 46 ± 4 milliwatts per square meter is required to match the observed radiance. The implied local shell thickness is 20 to 23 kilometers-consistent with the higher end of thickness models based on gravity, topography, and libration measurements. This work provides a previously unidentified constraint for models of tidal heat production, shell thickness, and the long-term evolution of Enceladus' ocean.

Authors: Miles, G; Howett, CJA; Nimmo, F; Hemingway, DJ

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Journal: Science Advances
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 45
• Pages: eadx4338
• Publication date: 2025-11-07
• Acceptance date: 2025-10-06
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx4338
• EISSN: 2375-2548
• ISSN: 2375-2548
• Pmid: 41202129
• Language: English