Sustaining hydrothermal circulation with gravity relevant to ocean worlds

Abstract

Some ocean worlds may sustain active, seafloor hydrothermal systems, but the characteristics and controls on fluid-heat transport in these systems are not well understood. We developed three-dimensional numerical simulations, using a ridge-flank hydrothermal system on Earth as a reference, to test the influence of ocean world gravity on fluid and heat transport. Simulations represented the upper ∼4–5 km below the seafloor and explored ranges of: heat input at the base, aquifer thickness, depth, and permeability, and gravity values appropriate for Earth, Europa, and Enceladus. We tested when a hydrothermal siphon could be sustained and quantified consequent circulation temperatures, flow rates, and advective heat output. Calculations illustrate a trade-off in energy between the reduction of buoyancy at lower gravity, which tends to reduce the primary forces driving fluid circulation, and the concomitant reduction in secondary convection, which consumes available energy. When a siphon was sustained under lower gravity, circulation temperatures tended to increase modestly (which should lead to more extensive geochemical reactions), whereas mass flow rates and advective heat output tended to be reduced. Deeper subseafloor circulation resulted in higher temperatures and flow rates, with a deeper, thin aquifer being more efficient in removing heat from the rocky interior. Water-rock ratios were lower when gravity was lower, as was the efficiency of heat extraction, whereas the time required to circulate the volume of an ocean-world's ocean through the seafloor increased. This may help to explain how small ocean worlds could sustain hydrothermal circulation for a long time despite limited heat sources.