As the search for life elsewhere in our solar system ramps up, the tidal forces from Saturn and its larger moons that act on Enceladus may make those oceans warm enough to sustain life deep below the surface. These tidal forces heat up the interior of Enceladus, similar to how Jupiter and its moons make Io hot enough to have surface volcanism. 

Now, new research in JGR: Planets has examined just how the tidal forces affect the surface ice of Enceladus, cracking it and even causing the geysers of water we have captured images of, especially at the so-called tiger stripes. The scientists involved used the Earth analog of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica to see how seismic activity would affect the surface ice, and they found features that were similar to those seen on Enceladus. 

Unlike larger earthquakes, the icequakes in Antarctica seem to be continuous, like a set of “little pops and fractures”, that particularly occurred around rifts on the ice slab. By understanding the icequakes here on Earth, we might be able to determine just how thick the surface ice is on Enceladus, and then we can figure out if that thickness is enough to protect any potential underwater life from the radiation that hits the moon. There are no missions to Enceladus planned currently, but I think this icy moon is a great target for one.

More Information

AGU press release

“Projected Seismic Activity at the Tiger Stripe Fractures on Enceladus, Saturn, From an Analog Study of Tidally Modulated Icequakes Within the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica,” Kira G. Olsen et al., 2021 May 21, JGR Planets