On the application of simple rift basin models to the south polar region of Enceladus

Abstract

The south polar terrain (SPT) of Saturn's moon Enceladus is a mysteriously active region that exhibits intriguing tectonic signatures and widespread fracturing. The central region of the nearly‐circular SPT is depressed into the surface by a few hundred meters and bounded by a ring of cliffs roughly 1 km high. In this study, we investigate whether this depression and surrounding mountainous uplift is consistent with the morphology of terrestrial rift basins and the possibility that the SPT could have formed during a tectonic event analogous to those of such rift basins on Earth. Using three mechanical models of basin formation, we compare our predicted topography of the SPT with observed topography of the region. The first of three models we consider assumes crustal stretching by factor β, and predicts a basin depth of roughly 600 m, closely matching previously published estimates of the depth at the SPT. Models of extension and compression, assuming an elastic response in the ice crust, predict best‐fit mountain uplift of roughly 1820 m and 1130 m, respectively. Our preferred model suggests that the icy shell in the SPT has been stretched, but the extension is (partially) balanced by compression along the edges of the basin leading to the uplift of the mountains along the boundary, thereby implying that the SPT may have a tectonic origin analogous to that of a terrestrial basin.