In April 2017, only months before the end of Cassini's mission at Saturn, two discoveries from Enceladus's plumes suggested that its subsurface ocean is in contact with bedrock underneath it, instead of just being between layers of ice. What two discoveries prompted this conclusion?   a The plumes coming from Enceladus's south pole contain traces of basalt and anorthosite, two rock types that only form where water is in contact with rock. b Silica nanoparticles and molecular hydrogen (H2) in the plumes are consistent with seafloor hydrothermal activity, like at the Earth's seafloor hydrothermal vents. c While flying through Enceladus's plumes, Cassini photographed strangely-shaped asteroids, which turned out to be hydrothermal vent chimneys that had been blasted into space. d During a very close flyby of Enceladus, Cassini detected very highly magnetized particles, which must have been produced on the rocky floor of a deep ocean.

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN:9780134746241
Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa
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Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals
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In April 2017, only months before the end of Cassini's mission at Saturn, two discoveries from Enceladus's plumes suggested that its subsurface ocean is in contact with bedrock underneath it, instead of just being between layers of ice. What two discoveries prompted this conclusion?

 
a The plumes coming from Enceladus's south pole contain traces of basalt and anorthosite, two rock types that only form where water is in contact with rock.
b Silica nanoparticles and molecular hydrogen (H2) in the plumes are consistent with seafloor hydrothermal activity, like at the Earth's seafloor hydrothermal vents.
c While flying through Enceladus's plumes, Cassini photographed strangely-shaped asteroids, which turned out to be hydrothermal vent chimneys that had been blasted into space.
d During a very close flyby of Enceladus, Cassini detected very highly magnetized particles, which must have been produced on the rocky floor of a deep ocean.
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