Fp. Fanale et al., Tyre and Pwyll: Galileo orbital remote sensing of mineralogy versus morphology at two selected sites on Europa, J GEO R-PLA, 105(E9), 2000, pp. 22647-22655
Observational data from the Galileo Orbiter's remote-sensing instruments, i
ncluding solid-state imaging (SSI), the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
(NIMS), and the ultraviolet spectrometer (UVS), are analyzed and interprete
d in terms of the history of the Tyre and Pwyll impact sites and the nature
of Europa's crustal zonal structure. Material characterized by asymmetric
1.4 and 2.0 mu m bands and visible coloration characterizes each site where
morphologic evidence suggests disruption of the topmost crust, The materia
l is not H2O ice, is endogenic, and is common to the linea, impact basins,
and dark trailing side terrain. Differences between Tyre and Pwyll are inte
rpreted in terms of Europa's peculiar energy history, while other evidence
may suggest flooding of the endogenic material as a liquid. The pure ice ap
pearance of most of Europa's crust is probably superficial, while beneath a
thin patina of sputtered H2O molecules the crust is everywhere laced with
numerous generations of intrusions and extrusions of an aqueous phase. Our
results, together with numerous laboratory experiments and theoretical anal
ysis, suggest that the aqueous phase is dominated by the SO4= anion.