DLR Institute of Planetary Research

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Bachelor Thesis / Internship: Parameter study for mantle convection

01.06.2012
We have developed a spherical convection model that solves fluid dynamic equations to model the mantle flow in terrestrial planets. Convection processes depend on many parameters, e.g. the ratio of core radius to planetary radius (Rc/Rp), the depth dependence of the viscosity, and the surface temperature, that are often not well constrained. The influence of these specific parameters needs to be studied with a detailed parameter study - necessary to better understand the convection processes. We are looking for a student to perform this kind of parameter study.

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Diploma or Master Thesis: Thermal Evolution of Icy Satellites

01.05.2012
The icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn consist of an ice layer (varying from hundred to thousand of kilometers in thickness) on top of a silicate mantle and an iron rich core. Thus, heat from the interior, e.g. due to radioactive elements in the silicate part, is transported through these ice shells. Depending on the efficiency of heat transport, the ice layer may strongly influence the thermal evolution and thereby the volcanic and magnetic field evolution of these bodies. So far, it has been assumed that the ice layer transports very efficiently heat and a possible insulating effect has been neglected in earlier models. We want to expand an existing parameterized convection model to couple the heat transfer in the ice shell with the heat transport in the silicate mantle and the iron rich core. The aim is to examine the influence of an ice layer, e.g. its thickness, on the thermal evolution of icy satellites.

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Completed and on-going theses