Planetary Science Seminar

Ices are abundant throughout the solar system. In this talk, I will describe how we apply observations and laboratory experiments of water ice on Earth to ices on other planets to learn about their geologic histories. I will focus on two bodies in the outer solar system. First, I will describe how glacial flow modeling can be applied to topography on Ceres to constrain its cryovolcanic history. Next, I will use ballistic transport modeling to argue that a 30-year-old mystery from the Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus is best explained by the presence of carbon dioxide ice on the largest Uranian moons. I will end by discussing prospects for using methodology from both parts of the talk in solving outstanding geologic questions on other bodies, such as Psyche and Kuiper Belt Objects.