1. SCIENCE GOALSTHE FRACTURE AND FAILURE OF THE SHELLS OF THE ICY SATELLITES ARE NOT ONLY AN OBSERVABLE RECORD OF STRESS AND ACTIVITY THEY ARE ALSO KEY MECHANISMS IN THE INTERACTION OF SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE MATERIAL AND THUS CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO ICE SHELL HABITABILITY. THERE ARE A RANGE OF SOURCES OF STRESS ON AN ICE SHELL THAT LIKELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE FORMATION OF FRACTURES BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT INTERACTING PROCESSES AND MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO THE WIDESPREAD COMPLEX FRACTURE ARRAYS OBSERVED. THERE HAS BEEN AN INSUFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF OBSERVATIONS OF THE FRACTURES IN ICY SHELLS TO FORMULATE A COMPLETE PICTURE OF CRACK PROPAGATION AND TERRAIN FORMATION. TARGETED STUDIESHAVE PROVIDED GLIMPSES INTO THE PROCESS OF FRACTURE PROPAGATION [1-3] PERIODIC TIDAL ACTIVATION OF RIFTS [4] AND STRIKE-SLIP FAULTING AND HEATING [5 6]. HOWEVER THESE STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON FRACTURES ON AN ISOLATED CASE-BY-CASE BASIS WITH MINIMAL CONSIDERATION FOR THEICY SHELLS HIGHLY FRACTURED NATURE. WITH THIS IN MIND OUR INTENDED PRIMARY GOALS ARE: (A) IMPROVE ESTIMATES OF DEPTH TO WHICH SURFACE AND BASAL FRACTURE ARRAYS PENETRATE THE ICE SHELL USING ELASTIC FRACTURE MECHANICS PRINCIPLES MODIFIED BY DUCTILE FAILURE PROCESSES; (B) CONSTRAIN MAGNITUDE OF STRESS NECESSARY FOR FULL-FRACTURE PROPAGATION FOR A RANGE OF ICE THICKNESSES; (C) CONSTRAIN THE ENERGYREQUIRED TO CREATE CHAOS TERRAIN FEATURES; (D) DETERMINE A THRESHOLD CRITERION FOR THE TRANSITION FROM A HIGHLY-FRACTURED SECTION OF ICE SHELL TO SHATTERED TERRAIN; (E) DEVELOP AND TEST ICE DYNAMICS MODELS CONSTRAINED BY TERRESTRIAL ICE SHELF OBSERVATIONS TO DETERMINEEMPIRICALLY-DERIVED SET OF PROPERTIES AND PROCESSES RELATING TO THE PROPAGATION OF FRACTURES AND FRACTURE ARRAYS IN AN ICY SHELL.2. METHODOLOGYTHE PROPOSED STUDY AIMS TO IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE POORLY UNDERSTOOD BUT COMPLEX INTERACTING PROCESSES AND MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF FRACTURES IN ICY SHELLS SPECIFICALLY EUROPAS. WE WILL COMBINE A UNIQUE ENERGY FRAGMENTATION MODEL DYNAMIC FRACTURE MECHANICS FRACTAL ANALYSIS AND A NOVEL GRANULAR PHYSICS GLACIOLOGICAL MODEL CONSTRAINED BY EARTHS ICE-SHELVES TO CARRY OUT THIS INVESTIGATION OF MECHANICAL FAILURE AND FRACTURE AND COLLAPSE PATTERNS IN EUROPAS ICE SHELL.3. RELEVANCETHE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT WOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO SEVERAL THEMES HIGHLIGHTED IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM WORKINGS PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL: (1) FOCUS ON GEOPHYSICAL PROCESSES OCCURRING ON THE ICY SATELLITES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM; (2) EMPLOY NEWINTERDISCIPLINARY SOLUTIONS TO MODEL THESE PROCESSES AND (3) BE TESTED AGAINST TERRESTRIAL ANALOG SYSTEMS. THE SSW PROGRAM SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND PROCESSES THAT OCCUR THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEMINFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES AT WORK. TO THIS END OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE NEARLY-UBIQUITOUS PROCESS OF FRACTURING IN ICY SHELLS. WORKING SPECIFICALLY TOWARDUNDERSTANDING EVOLUTION AND MODIFICATION OF SURFACES AS OUTLINED IN THE SSW AO WE WILL USE BOTH THEORETICAL MODELS AND REMOTE OBSERVATIONS TO INVESTIGATE THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF FRACTURE SYSTEMS OVER TIME TESTING OUR HYPOTHESES AND MODELS USING OBSERVATIONS OF TERRESTRIAL (ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC) ANALOGS. WE AIM TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE EVOLUTION OF OUTER SOLAR SYSTEMBODIES BY FOCUSING ON DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN EUROPAS ICE SHELL.REFERENCES:[1] OJAKANGAS G. W.&D. J. STEVENSON (1989) ICARUS 81(2) 242-270; [2] LEE S. ET AL. (2005) ICARUS 177 367-379; [3] RUDOLPH M. L.AND M. MANGA (2009) ICARUS 199 536-541; [4] HURFORD T. A. ET AL. (2009) ICARUS 202:197 215; [5] NIMMO F. ET AL. (2007) NATURE 447 289-291; [6] SMITH-KONTER B.&R. T. PAPPALARDO (2009) ICARUS 198 435-451.