Cryovolcanism - Revision history

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External Links

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	== External Links ==		== External Links ==

	* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]		Wikipedia:
	* ~~Wikipedia:~~ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser#Cryogeysers Cryogeyser]		* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]
			* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser#Cryogeysers Cryogeyser]
			* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovolcano]

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External Links

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	* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]		* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]
	* Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser ~~Geyser~~]		* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser#Cryogeysers Cryogeyser]

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	* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]		* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]
			* Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser Geyser]

Apm: fixed repeated misspelling of geyser

2020-11-06T11:08:05Z

fixed repeated misspelling of geyser

Apm: basic version of the page

2020-11-04T11:47:09Z

basic version of the page

New page

Cryovolvanism is volcanism in our solar system that instead of molten rock 
vents more or less salty water or fluids that are liquid at even lower temperatures like ammonia.

== Why cryovolcanism is exciting ==

* Robots can dive in and explore the cryovolcanic channel system without the need for extreme heat resistance (given cracks are big enough).
* Diving down just a few meters deep already gives perfect shielding against space radiation. Good for space probes, even better for astronauts.
* The radiation shielding water essentially replaces a thick atmosphere (that is only present on Titan, Venus, the four gas giants, and Earth of course).
* The radiation shielding water makes burying oneself under regolith obsolete.
* The radiation shielding water makes climbing down vacuum "filled" lavatubes obsolete.
* The water provides strong buoyancy allowing for easy 3D navigation (no wheels or legs)
* The water may provide decent amounts of dissolved elements that maybe can be used for manufacturing - some day with [[advanced APM]]

=== Are the cracks big enough to enter? ===

By the time of writing (2020) we certainly know about the existence of cryovolcanism, but how big the cryovolcanic cracks actually are is still hard to tell.
The images we have today (2020) where all taken from orbit and thus do not provide enough resolution to tell us whether there are some openings that are at least about meter sized (like a big Earth gysir) where robotic probes could directly and unbobstructedly enter.

On Earth volcanic cracks are typically small but we do have some lava lakes which may be connected to bigger supply channels.
A better analogy might be gysirs. There too are ones with openings that would be big enough for a probe to enter.
Finding ones big enough for a crewed submarine to fit in is another story, but when it comes to colonization carrying a reactor along to melt away obstructions
may be an option. Unlike elsewhere refreezing might be very slow or absent, thus a system for fast transport can be more easily built up.
(At other non-cryovolcanic placed where refreezing is very fast one might wanna make (from local resources) vacuum "filled" tubes with strong lining walls. This seems much more difficult).

Gysirs on Earth feature clear water, so if the vents are not too active and agitated it seems very reasonable to expect to find some vents that are filled with clear water allowing to take direct visual video footage.

== Comparison to "conventional" volcanism on Earth ==

In case of "conventional" Earth like volcanism (and beyond) we have: 
(listed by increasing potential "divability")
* very red hot and super viscous basaltic lava
* barely red hot carbonatite lava [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatite]
* cooking hot mud volcanoes
* gysirs
All of these (except the last one) spew out an opaque and highly viscous medium. 
(maybe one could do some sonar navigation in mud volcano channels)

== In context of [[advanced APM]] ==

* What useful elements can be expected to be dissolved in the water ([[filtering]])
* How to build a research base or colonization habitat in there given these materials

== Locations of cryovolcanism ==

Essentially all the places where [[subsurface ocean]] is suspected.
But cryovolcanism might be present even without an open [[subsurface ocean]].

== External Links ==

* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcano Cryovlocano]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 6 November 2020
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	By the time of writing (2020) we certainly know about the existence of cryovolcanism, but how big the cryovolcanic cracks actually are is still hard to tell.		By the time of writing (2020) we certainly know about the existence of cryovolcanism, but how big the cryovolcanic cracks actually are is still hard to tell.
	The images we have today (2020) where all taken from orbit and thus do not provide enough resolution to tell us whether there are some openings that are at least about meter sized (like a big Earth ~~gysir~~) where robotic probes could directly and unbobstructedly enter.		The images we have today (2020) where all taken from orbit and thus do not provide enough resolution to tell us whether there are some openings that are at least about meter sized (like a big Earth geyser) where robotic probes could directly and unbobstructedly enter.

	On Earth volcanic cracks are typically small but we do have some lava lakes which may be connected to bigger supply channels.		On Earth volcanic cracks are typically small but we do have some lava lakes which may be connected to bigger supply channels.
	A better analogy might be ~~gysirs~~. There too are ones with openings that would be big enough for a probe to enter.		A better analogy might be geysers. There too are ones with openings that would be big enough for a probe to enter.
	Finding ones big enough for a crewed submarine to fit in is another story, but when it comes to colonization carrying a reactor along to melt away obstructions		Finding ones big enough for a crewed submarine to fit in is another story, but when it comes to colonization carrying a reactor along to melt away obstructions
	may be an option. Unlike elsewhere refreezing might be very slow or absent, thus a system for fast transport can be more easily built up.		may be an option. Unlike elsewhere refreezing might be very slow or absent, thus a system for fast transport can be more easily built up.
	(At other non-cryovolcanic placed where refreezing is very fast one might wanna make (from local resources) vacuum "filled" tubes with strong lining walls. This seems much more difficult).		(At other non-cryovolcanic placed where refreezing is very fast one might wanna make (from local resources) vacuum "filled" tubes with strong lining walls. This seems much more difficult).

	~~Gysirs~~ on Earth feature clear water, so if the vents are not too active and agitated it seems very reasonable to expect to find some vents that are filled with clear water allowing to take direct visual video footage.		Geysers on Earth feature clear water, so if the vents are not too active and agitated it seems very reasonable to expect to find some vents that are filled with clear water allowing to take direct visual video footage.

	== Comparison to "conventional" volcanism on Earth ==		== Comparison to "conventional" volcanism on Earth ==
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	* barely red hot carbonatite lava [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatite]		* barely red hot carbonatite lava [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatite]
	* cooking hot mud volcanoes		* cooking hot mud volcanoes
	* ~~gysirs~~		* geysers
	All of these (except the last one) spew out an opaque and highly viscous medium.<br>		All of these (except the last one) spew out an opaque and highly viscous medium.<br>
	<small>(maybe one could do some sonar navigation in mud volcano channels)</small>		<small>(maybe one could do some sonar navigation in mud volcano channels)</small>