Sublimation-driven convection in Sputnik Planitia on Pluto

Adrien Morison, Stéphane Labrosse () and Gaël Choblet
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Adrien Morison: Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter
Stéphane Labrosse: Université de Lyon, ENSL, Univ Lyon-1, CNRS
Gaël Choblet: Nantes Université, CNRS, Université d’Angers

Nature, 2021, vol. 600, issue 7889, 419-423

Abstract: Abstract Sputnik Planitia is a nitrogen-ice-filled basin on Pluto1. Its polygonal surface patterns2 have been previously explained as a result of solid-state convection with either an imposed heat flow3 or a temperature difference within the 10-km-thick ice layer4. Neither explanation is satisfactory, because they do not exhibit surface topography with the observed pattern: flat polygons delimited by narrow troughs5. Internal heating produces the observed patterns6, but the heating source in such a setup remains enigmatic. Here we report the results of modelling the effects of sublimation at the surface. We find that sublimation-driven convection readily produces the observed polygonal structures if we assume a smaller heat flux (~0.3 mW m−2) at the base of the ice layer than the commonly accepted value of 2–3 mW m−2 (ref. 7). Sustaining this regime with the latter value is also possible, but would require a stronger viscosity contrast (~3,000) than the nominal value (~100) considered in this study.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04095-w

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