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Old 29-July-2006, 05:51 PM
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parallaxicality parallaxicality is offline
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Default cryovolcanoes on Titan

I know we've found potential methane-spewing volcanoes on Titan, but it seems to me a methane volcano on Titan would essentially be a geyser; collecting precipitation, heating it and then spewing it back onto the surface. A true cryovolcano would spew water lava, wouldn't it? Have we found a water lava volcano on Titan yet?
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Old 29-July-2006, 10:56 PM
ss002d6252 ss002d6252 is offline
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cryovolcanic activity involves any liquids/gases appropriate to the temperature/pressure, not just water ice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcanism
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Old 29-July-2006, 11:15 PM
grant hutchison grant hutchison is offline
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The Wiki article seems to be confused, since it stipulates that cryovolcanoes erupt cryomagma and that cryomagma condenses to a solid once erupted: analogous to rocky magma on Earth. So cryovolcanism, by that definition, involves anything that's liquid inside the planet but solid outside.
However, the same article goes on to claim that methane eruptions on Titan are an example of cryovolcanism, despite the fact the (apparently) primary erupted material remains gaseous or liquid.
Sigh.
There's some interesting (pre-Huygens) work on cryogeysers with reference to Titan here.

Grant Hutchison
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