Modeling the Enceladus dust plume based on in situ measurements performed with the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer

Ershova, Anastasiia; Schmidt, Juergen; Postberg, Frank; Khawaja, Nozair; Nölle, Lenz; Srama, Ralf; Kempf, Sascha; Southworth, Benjamin Scott

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450429

Modeling the Enceladus dust plume based on in situ measurements performed with the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer

Journal Article · Fri Sep 06 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202450429· OSTI ID:2433955

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]; Nölle, Lenz ^[3]; Srama, Ralf ^[5]; Kempf, Sascha ^[5]; ^[6]

University of Oulu (Finland)
Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany); University of Oulu (Finland)
Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany)
Univ. of Stuttgart (Germany); Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany)
Univ. of Stuttgart (Germany)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

We analyzed data recorded by the Cosmic Dust Analyzer on board the Cassini spacecraft during Enceladus dust plume traversals. Our focus was on profiles of relative abundances of grains of different compositional types derived from mass spectra recorded with the Dust Analyzer subsystem during the Cassini flybys E5 and E17. The E5 profile, corresponding to a steep and fast traversal of the plume, has already been analyzed. In this paper, we included a second profile from the E17 flyby involving a nearly horizontal traversal of the south polar terrain at a significantly lower velocity. Additionally, we incorporated dust detection rates from the High Rate Detector subsystem during flybys E7 and E21. We derived grain size ranges in the different observational data sets and used these data to constrain parameters for a new dust plume model. This model was constructed using a mathematical description of dust ejection implemented in the software package DUDI. Further constraints included published velocities of gas ejection, positions of gas and dust jets, and the mass production rate of the plume. Our model employs two different types of sources: diffuse sources of dust ejected with a lower velocity and jets with a faster and more colimated emission. From our model, we derived dust mass production rates for different compositional grain types, amounting to at least 28 kg s^–1. Previously, salt-rich dust was believed to dominate the plume mass based on E5 data alone. The E17 profile shows a dominance of organic-enriched grains over the south polar terrain, a region not well constrained by E5 data. By including both E5 and E17 profiles, we find the salt-rich dust contribution to be at most 1% by mass. This revision also results from an improved understanding of grain masses of various compositional types that implies smaller sizes for salt-rich grains. Our new model can predict grain numbers and masses for future mission detectors during plume traversals.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 2433955

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--23-26550

Journal Information:: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Journal Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Vol. 689; ISSN 0004-6361

Publisher:: EDP SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Modeling the Enceladus dust plume based on in situ measurements performed with the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer

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