Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2010
Abstract
The Cassini mission revealed two spectacular characteristics of Iapetus: (1) a geologically old and high equatorial ridge, which is unique in the Solar System and (2) a large flattening of 35 km consistent with the equilibrium figure for a hydrostatic body rotating with a period of 16 h, whereas the current spin period is 79.33 days. This study describes three-dimensional simulations of solid-state convection within an undifferentiated Iapetus.
It investigates the implications for the evolution of the interior thermal structure and its spin rate and global shape using radially layered viscoelastic models.