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Habitability, Interior and Crust: A new Code for Modeling the Thermal Evolution of Planets and Moons

Authors:
Lena Noack
Attilio Rivoldini
Tim Van Hoolst

Keywords: fluid dynamics; convection; numerical modeling; thermal evolution; planetology

Abstract:
We present a new numerical code (CHIC, short for Coupling Habitability, Interior and Crust) for the simulation of the thermal evolution of terrestrial planets, with a focus on the numerical aspects of the code and its validation. The thermal evolution of the mantle is calculated either by solving the energy conservation equation supplemented by boundary-layer theory (1D parameterized thermal evolution model) or by solving the energy, mass, and momentum conservation equations (2D/3D convective thermal evolution). For the latter setting, the equations can be solved either in the Boussinesq or extended Boussinesq approximation. The code provides information on the temperature field, convective velocities and convective stresses in the mantle. Simulations can also be run in steady-state regime. The code provides a user updatable library of thermodynamic properties of iron and common mantle silicates as well as associated equations of state, which allow to compute material properties at high pressure and temperature. CHIC has been benchmarked with different convection codes, and compared to published interior-structure models and 1D parameterized models. The CHIC code handles surface volcanism, crustal development, and different regimes of surface mobilization like plate tectonics. It is therefore well suited for studying scenarios related to the habitability of terrestrial planets. CHIC is an advanced simulation code that can be applied to a diverse range of geodynamic problems and questions.

Pages: 84 to 90

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2015

Publication date: June 21, 2015

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-3484

ISBN: 978-1-61208-416-9

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Dates: from June 21, 2015 to June 26, 2015