Does Europa have ice crustal plate tectonics?

Jupiter's icy moon Europa exhibits signs of ice crustal plates moving and interacting in a manner similar to Earth's plate tectonics. Heat generated from tidal flexing keeps a subsurface ocean liquid and is thought to drive this ice movement, which could absorb surface chemicals down into the ocean. While Earth remains the only planet currently known to have active rocky plate tectonics, other worlds show evidence of tectonic activity.

What we know

• Jupiter's moon Europa shows signs of ice crustal plates moving and interacting, similar to Earth's plate tectonics. [2, 3]
• Heat from tidal flexing is the predominant model proposed to cause Europa's subsurface ocean to remain liquid and drive ice movement. [3]
• Ice movement on Europa could potentially absorb chemicals from the surface down into the ocean below. [3] · medium confidence
• Earth is currently the only planet known to have active plate tectonics. [2]

Where to go next

• how it workedHow does tidal heating keep Europa's subsurface ocean liquid?
• how we knowWhat evidence suggests tectonic activity on other icy moons?
• what followedCould Europa's subsurface ocean harbor extraterrestrial life?
• compared withHow do plate tectonics operate on Earth?
• whenWhat missions have been sent to explore Europa?
• an unexpected connectionHow are Jupiter's icy moon and Earth linked by plate tectonics?Although Earth's tectonic plates involve rocky lithosphere over a silicate mantle, Jupiter's moon Europa appears to experience a comparable style of crustal motion using ice sheets floating over a liquid water ocean.

Sources

• [1]plate tectonics (Wikidata Q7950) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Plate tectonics · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Europa (moon) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Tectonics on icy moons · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Ceres (dwarf planet) · CC BY-SA 4.0