Tidally-induced magmatic pulses on the oceanic floor of Jupiter’s moon Europa

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa harbours underneath a tectonically active ice shell, a salty ocean interacting with a possibly still active rocky interior. Such an oceanic environment makes Europa a primary target for the search of a habitable world outside the Earth5. The habitability of Europa’s ocean is conditioned by the heat released from the deep interior to the seafloor, and hence by the intensity of magmatic activity. Similarly to the volcanic moon, Io, tidal energy dissipated in its interior is expected to influence its thermal state. However, its impact on magmatic activity is still poorly constrained. Here we investigate the melting of the silicate mantle through time and the consequences for seafloor magmatism by modelling the heat production and transfer using a three-dimensional numerical model. Even though silicate volcanism is strongly reduced compared to Io, we show that a significant amount of silicate melts can be produced during most of Europa’s history due to the limited efficiency of internal cooling by thermal convection. The melting rate is amplified by tidal friction, possibly leading to magmatic pulses during periods of enhanced eccentricity. The volume of generated melts during magmatic episodes are comparable to those involved in Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), commonly observed on Earth, and may have an impact on the oceanic chemistry. Tidal dissipation also leads to a concentration of magmatic activity at high latitudes, which signatures may be revealed by future exploration missions.