Question

jupiter has a moon with an icy surface that, from space, shows part of its crust made up of broken ice flows of many different sizes frozen together like a mixed up jigsaw puzzle of ice rafts. scientist theorize the in this region may have partially melted, fractured, then refroze, forming a type of chaotic terrain. which of jupiter's moons shows this feature?

Answer 1

Europa is Jupiter's moon that shows a surface of jumbled ice resembling a broken jigsaw puzzle, as a result of its subsurface ocean being affected by Jupiter's gravity, causing ice to crack, shift, and refreeze.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Jupiter moon that displays a surface of broken ice flows resembling a jigsaw puzzle is Europa. This feature indicates a chaotic terrain, which is a result of the surface experiencing partial melting, fracturing, and refreezing. The cause of this activity on Europa is the intense gravitational interaction with Jupiter that creates tides within Europa’s subsurface ocean, generating heat and keeping the water in a liquid state beneath the icy crust. This process leads to breaking up of the surface ice, creating the characteristic chaotic terrain as icebergs and ice floes shift, rotate, and refreeze in new positions.

Galileo mission images and the induced magnetic field studies of Europa also support the existence of a deep subsurface ocean. Europa is one of the most intriguing moons in the solar system because of its potential for an environment that might support life, a key area of study known as astrobiology.