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Ridge (Icy Moons)

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

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Definition

Linear to arcuate positive elevation features on icy satellites.

Note

In a strict sense, the term “ridge” is used on Europa for double ridges.

Category

A type of lineament on Europa.

Description

The morphology of ridges is very consistent over long distances, 10s–1000s of km, with the height and width remaining uniform along the length (Prockter et al. 2010). Ridges are up to 200 m high. Ridges consist of a central trough flanked by two ridges on either side. The inner slopes are characterized by linear alternating ridges and grooves that are parallel to each other and are normal to the strike of the ridge. Four units have been identified on the outer ridge slope: (1) a rough-textured upper slope, (2) low-albedo terraces that are flanked downslope by scarps whose higher albedo may be due to exposure of fresh material on steeper slopes, (3) an intermediate albedo, smooth, lower-slope unit, and (4) a unit of hummocky, low-albedo deposit interpreted to be local accumulations...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planetary Science, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    D. Alex Patthoff

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  1. D. Alex Patthoff
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Correspondence to D. Alex Patthoff .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Patthoff, D.A. (2014). Ridge (Icy Moons). In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_308-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_308-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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