Motional induction in Ganymede's ocean

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Cabanes, Simon, Gastine, Thomas, Fournier, Alexandre
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Cabanes, Simon
Gastine, Thomas
Fournier, Alexandre
author_facet Cabanes, Simon
Gastine, Thomas
Fournier, Alexandre
contents We investigate the magnetic signature of oceanic circulation in Ganymede's subsurface ocean using kinematic induction modeling. Our approach couples zonal jet flows from rotating thermal convection simulations with magnetic field models incorporating Ganymede's internal dynamo and external contributions from Jupiter. We solve the induction equation in spherical geometry for deep-ocean (493 km) and shallow-ocean (287 km) scenarios with varying magnetic Reynolds numbers. Ocean flows generate a predominantly toroidal magnetic field through the omega-effect, with a weaker poloidal component pervading beyond the conductive ocean layer. For some, but not all, induction configurations, analysis of the time-averaged Lowes-Mauersberger spectra reveals that ocean-induced signals dominate at spherical harmonic degrees $\ell \geq 4$. Deep ocean scenarios with magnetic Reynolds numbers above unity produce surface magnetic signals up to 9 nT. Our results demonstrate that Ganymede's intrinsic magnetic field creates favorable conditions for detecting subsurface ocean dynamics, thus emphasizing the need for low-altitude orbits for the Juice probe.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_06305
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Motional induction in Ganymede's ocean
Cabanes, Simon
Gastine, Thomas
Fournier, Alexandre
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Geophysics
We investigate the magnetic signature of oceanic circulation in Ganymede's subsurface ocean using kinematic induction modeling. Our approach couples zonal jet flows from rotating thermal convection simulations with magnetic field models incorporating Ganymede's internal dynamo and external contributions from Jupiter. We solve the induction equation in spherical geometry for deep-ocean (493 km) and shallow-ocean (287 km) scenarios with varying magnetic Reynolds numbers. Ocean flows generate a predominantly toroidal magnetic field through the omega-effect, with a weaker poloidal component pervading beyond the conductive ocean layer. For some, but not all, induction configurations, analysis of the time-averaged Lowes-Mauersberger spectra reveals that ocean-induced signals dominate at spherical harmonic degrees $\ell \geq 4$. Deep ocean scenarios with magnetic Reynolds numbers above unity produce surface magnetic signals up to 9 nT. Our results demonstrate that Ganymede's intrinsic magnetic field creates favorable conditions for detecting subsurface ocean dynamics, thus emphasizing the need for low-altitude orbits for the Juice probe.
title Motional induction in Ganymede's ocean
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Geophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.06305