# Tidal viscosity of Enceladus

## TL;DR

This paper estimates Enceladus's mean tidal viscosity by relating tidal dissipation in a Maxwell body to vapor plume energy flux, suggesting a viscosity close to that of near-melting ice.

## Contribution

It provides a novel method to estimate Enceladus's tidal viscosity using tidal dissipation and vapor flux data, assuming Maxwell rheology.

## Key findings

- Estimated tidal viscosity of Enceladus: 0.24×10^14 Pa·s
- Viscosity close to that of ice near melting point
- Supports Maxwell rheology assumption for Enceladus's mantle

## Abstract

In the preceding paper (Efroimsky 2017), we derived an expression for the tidal dissipation rate in a homogeneous near-spherical Maxwell body librating in longitude. Now, by equating this expression to the outgoing energy flux due to the vapour plumes, we estimate the mean tidal viscosity of Enceladus, under the assumption that the Enceladean mantle behaviour is Maxwell. This method yields a value of $\,0.24\times 10^{14}\;\mbox{Pa~s}\,$ for the mean tidal viscosity, which is very close to the viscosity of ice near the melting point.