Exploratour - Does Europa have an Ocean?
Scientists think that the surface of Europa may well be explained with out an ocean underneath the crust, but with motions of solid ice within the moon itself. We all know that ice can flow. The figure to the left is an illustration of the flow of ice in the Antarctic region of the Earth. Ice flows readily, albeit slowly. Terrestrial glaciers are ample evidence of the fact that ice can move. Glaciers flow with a speed of about 2 inches per year. Thus the ice of a moon can readily flow inside a moon in response to being heated from within.
This is page 3 of 20
This is page 3 of 20