162-14 Analysis-Ready Data: Images, DEMs, and Geologic Maps as a Foundation For Exploring the Moons of Uranus

Session: Planetary Geologic Mapping Across the Solar System

Presenting Author:

Alex Patthoff

Authors:

Patthoff, Alex¹, Leonard, Erin J.², Martin, Emily S.³, Beddingfield, Chloe⁴, Bland, Michael⁵, Kargel, Jeffery⁶, Thomson, Bradley⁷, Pappalardo, Robert T.⁸, Nichols-Fleming, Fiona⁹

(1) Planetary Science Institute, La Habra Heights, CA, USA, (2) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA, (3) National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, USA, (4) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA, (5) United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, (6) Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, USA, (7) University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, (8) Jet Propulsion Lab / Caltech, Science Division, Pasadena, CA, USA, (9) Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, USA,

Abstract:

Prior to Voyager 2’s arrival at Uranus in 1986, the major moons of the system (Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon) were expected to have ancient surfaces (Croft and Soderblom, 1991). Instead, images revealed evidence for relatively recent complex geologic activity on the surfaces of some Uranian moons. Recent studies have shown that some of the Uranian moons could have current or recent subsurface liquid water oceans (e.g. Castillo-Rogez et al, 2023), thus expanding our understanding of the habitable zone. The Uranian moons share some attributes—such as size—with the Saturnian system, but may have involved formation times similar to the early formation of Jupiter’s Galilean satellites. The Uranian system, therefore, offers a key testbed for studies regarding the dynamics, geological processes, and evolution of the surfaces and interiors of the major icy satellites of the solar system. Here we report on the early progress of our recently funded work to create a self-consistent archive of new and updated data products using Voyager 2 ISS images of the five major Uranian moons. We aim to produce a comprehensive library of GIS-compatible and analysis-ready images, mosaics, regional DEMs, and digitized historical geological maps (Croft and Soderblom, 1991). Additionally, we will create the first two USGS scientific investigation maps (SIMs) covering the geology of Miranda and of Ariel, the first SIMs for any Uranian moon. Using consistent and analysis-ready formats, these data sets will allow a user to seamlessly overlay the individual reprocessed images, DEMs, and geologic maps over a global mosaic for each moon without adjustments, thus enabling new studies of the moons’ geological and geophysical state and evolution. This work would serve future Uranus mission development by providing planners with state-of-the-art GIS-ready images, DEMs, and maps. Additionally, this work can aid in comparative planetological studies with other icy moons of the outer solar system. Questions about energy sources that drive tectonic and possible cryovolcanic development of the Uranian moons, the possible continued existence of liquid layers (subsurface oceans), and the timing of satellite formation are all questions that this work can help to address. 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9451

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