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Geomorphological evidence for ground ice on dwarf planet Ceres

Abstract

Five decades of observations of Ceres suggest that the dwarf planet has a composition similar to carbonaceous meteorites and may have an ice-rich outer shell protected by a silicate layer. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected ubiquitous clays, carbonates and other products of aqueous alteration across the surface of Ceres, but surprisingly it has directly observed water ice in only a few areas. Here we use Dawn Framing Camera observations to analyse lobate morphologies on Ceres’ surface and we infer the presence of ice in the upper few kilometres of Ceres. We identify three distinct lobate morphologies that we interpret as surface flows: thick tongue-shaped, furrowed flows on steep slopes; thin, spatulate flows on shallow slopes; and cuspate sheeted flows that appear fluidized. The shapes and aspect ratios of these flows are different from those of dry landslides—including those on ice-poor Vesta—but are morphologically similar to ice-rich flows on other bodies, indicating the involvement of ice. Based on the geomorphology and poleward increase in prevalence of these flows, we suggest that the shallow subsurface of Ceres is comprised of mixtures of silicates and ice, and that ice is most abundant near the poles.

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Figure 1: Global distribution of flow features on Ceres.
Figure 2: Examples of type 1 flows.
Figure 3: Examples of type 2 flows.
Figure 4: Examples of type 3 flows.
Figure 5: ΔHL versus length (L) of observed flows.
Figure 6: Global area density of type 1 (blue bars), type 2 (yellow bars) and type 3 (red bars) flows.

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Acknowledgements

The authors recognize the incredible efforts of the full Dawn science and operations teams. Dawn’s mission is managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate’s Discovery Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Italian Space Agency and Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.

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Authors

Contributions

B.E.S. conceived of the paper, organized the Dawn Ground Ice working group, wrote the paper, and is an associate of the Dawn Framing Camera Team. K.H.G.H., H.T.C., J.E.C.S., T.P. and J.D.L. analysed images and provided figures. A.N. leads the Dawn Framing Camera team. The remaining authors planned observations, provided discussion and/or analysis, and helped revise the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Britney E. Schmidt.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Schmidt, B., Hughson, K., Chilton, H. et al. Geomorphological evidence for ground ice on dwarf planet Ceres. Nature Geosci 10, 338–343 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2936

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