73_Vidmachenko – Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Astronomy, no. 73, p. 28-34 (2026)

CRYOVOLCANISM ON PLUTO

Anatoly VIDMACHENKO, DSc (Phys. & Math.), Prof.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0523-5234
e-mail: avidmachenko@gmail.com
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine,
Main astronomical observatory of NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Yuliana KUZNYETSOVA, Researcher
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7750-4395
e-mail: juliana@mao.kiev.ua
Main astronomical observatory of NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Abstract

Cryovolcanoes are volcanoes that do not erupt molten rock, but volatile substances such as water, ammonia, or me-thane, in a liquid or plastic state. Data from the “New Horizons” mission have provided compelling evidence for cryovolcanic activ-ity on the dwarf planet Pluto. Several regions and individual structures on Pluto have been found that have morphological features that indicate their cryovolcanic origin. These are the huge dome-shaped volcanoes Wright Mons and Piccard Mons located south of Sputnik Planitia. The small number of impact craters on their surfaces indicates their geological youth. The Virgil Fossae and Viking Terra regions are observed next to long tectonic fault systems, in which deposits have been found that are interpreted as frozen cryolava flows. The driving force for cryovolcanism is Pluto’s internal heat, which is generated mainly by the decay of radioactive elements in its core. The composition of the material erupted during cryovolcanic events on Pluto has been determined from spectral data and from the morphology of the deposits. The main component is water ice mixed with other substances that allow it to remain mobile at low temperatures. These are ammonia, methane, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide. The presence of red-dish brown deposits in some cryovolcanic areas indicates the presence of complex organic compounds – tholins – in the cryolava, which were probably brought up from Pluto’s interior. The most surprising aspect of cryovolcanism on Pluto is its relatively recent age. The presence of ammonia on the surface confirms the relative youth of these eruptions, since ammonia is destroyed quite quickly by solar ultraviolet radiation and cosmic rays. Its detection means that it was brought to the surface within the last billion years. Cryovolcanic activity, along with other endogenous and exogenous processes, plays a significant role in the for-mation and evolution of Pluto’s diverse landscape.

Key words
Pluto, cryovolcanoes, ice volcanoes, cryolava, ice-water lava, tectonic faults, tectonic fractures, geological activity.

References

Brown, M. E., & Calvin, W. M. (2000). Evidence for crystalline water and ammonia ices on Pluto’s satellite Charon. Science, 287(5450), 107–109. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.287.5450.107
Cook, J. C., Desch, S. J., Roush, T. L., Trujillo, T. L., & Geballe, T. R. (2007). Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Charon: Possible Evidence for Cryovolcanism on Kuiper Belt Objects. The Astrophysical Journal, 663(2), 1406–1419. https://doi.org/10.1086/518222
Cruikshank, D. P., Grundy, W. M., DeMeo, F. E., DeMeo, F. E., Buie, M. W., Binzel, R. P., Jennings, D. E., Olkin, C. B., Parker, J. W., Reuter, D. C., Spencer, J. R., Stern, S. A., Young, L. A., & Weaver, H. A. (2015). The surface compositions of Pluto and Charon. Icarus, 246, 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.05.023
Cruikshank, D. P., Dalle Ore, C. M., Scipioni, F., Beyer, R. A., White, O. L., Moore, J. M., Grundy, W. M., Schmitt, B., Runyon, K. D., Keane, J. T., Robbins, S. J., Stern, S. A., Bertrand, T., Beddingfield, C. B., Olkin, C. B., Young, L. A., Weaver, H. A., & Ennico, K. (2021). Cryovolcanic flooding in Viking Terra on Pluto. Icarus, 356(113786), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113786
Cruikshank, D. P., Umurhan, O. M., Beyer, R. A., Schmitt, B., Keane, J. T., Runyon, K. D., Atri D., White, O. L., Matsuyama, I., Moore, J. M., McKinnon, W. B., Sandford, S. A., Singer, K. N., Grundy, W. M., Dalle Ore, C. M., Cook, J. C., Bertrand, T., Stern, S. A., Olkin, C. B., … (2019). Recent cryovolcanism in Virgil Fossae on Pluto. Icarus, 330, 155–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.04.023
Dalle Ore, C. M., Cruikshank, D. P., Protopapa, S., Scipioni, F., McKinnon, W. B., Cook, J. C., Grundy, W. M., Schmitt, B., Stern, S. A., Moore, J. M., Verbiscer, A., Parker, A. H., Singer, K. N., Umurhan, O. M., Weaver, H. A., Olkin, C. B., Young, L. A., & Ennico, K. (2019). Detection of ammonia on Pluto’s surface in a region of geologically recent tectonism. Detection of ammonia on Pluto’s surface in a region of geologically recent tectonism. Science Advances, 5(5), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav5731
Desch, S. J., & Neveu, M. (2017). Differentiation and cryovolcanism on Charon: A view before and after New Horizons. Icarus, 287, 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.11.037
Emran, A., Cruikshank, D. P., Ahrens, C. J., Moore, J. M., & White, O. L. (2025). Kiladze Caldera: A Possible Cryovolcano on Pluto. The Planetary Science Journal, 6(3), 52. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adb1e1
Grundy, W. M., Binzel, R. P., Buratti, B. J., Cook, J. C., Cruikshank, D. P., Dalle Ore, C. M., Earle, A. M., Ennico, K., Howett, C. J. A., Lunsford, A. W., Olkin, C. B., Parker, A. H., Philippe, S., Protopapa, S., Quirico, E., Reuter, D. C., Schmitt, B., Singer, K. N., Verbiscer, A. J., … (2016). Surface compositions across Pluto and Charon. Science, 351(6279), 9189-1–1989-8. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad9189
Grundy, W. M., Olkin, C. B., Young, L. A., Buie, M. W., & Young, E. F. (2013). Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution. Icarus, 223(2), 710–721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2013.01.019
Head, J. W., Pappalardo, R. T., & Sullivan, R. (1999). Europa: Morphological characteristics of ridges and triple bands from Galileo data (E4 and E6) and assessment of a linear diapirism model. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104(E10), 24223–24236. https://doi.org/10.1029/1998JE001011
Holler, B. J., Young, L. A., Grundy, W. M., Olkin, C. B., & Cook, J. C. (2014). Evidence for longitudinal variability of ethane ice on the surface of Pluto. Icarus, 243, 104–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.09.013
Johnson, B. C., Bowling, T. J., Trowbridge, A. J., & Freed, A. M. (2016). Formation of Sputnik Planum basin and the thickness of Pluto’s subsurface ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(19), 10068–10077. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070694
McGovern, P. J., White, O. L., & Schenk, P. M. (2021). New constraints on Pluto’s lithosphere from tectonics, cryovolcanism, and Sputnik Planitia loading models. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, #2698. https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/2698.pdf
Martin, C. R., Binzel., R. P. (2021). Ammonia–water freezing as a mechanism for recent cryovolcanism on Pluto. Icarus, 356, 1113763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113763
Owen, T. C., Roush, T. L., Cruikshank, D. P., Elliot, J. L., Young, L. A., de Bergh, C., Schmitt, B., Geballe, T. R., Brown, R. H., Bartholomew, M. J. (1993). Surface Ices and the Atmospheric Composition of Pluto. Science, 261(5122), 745–748. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.261.5122.745
Singer, K. N., White, O. L., Schenk, P. M., Moore, J. M., McKinnon, W. B., Howard, A. D., Spencer, J. R., Stern, S. A., Cook, J. C., Grundy, W. M., Cruikshank, D. P, Beyer, R. A., Nimmo, F., Umurhan, O., Howett, C. J. A., Parker, A. H., Protopapa, S., Lauer, T. R., Weaver, H. A, … (2016). Pluto’s putative cryovolcanic constructs. 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, #2276. https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/2276.pdf
Stern, S. A., Bagenal, F., Ennico, K., Gladstone, G. R., Grundy, W. M., McKinnon, W. B., Moore, J. M., Olkin, C. B., Spencer, J. R., Weaver, H. A., Young, L. A., Andert, T., Andrews, J., Banks, M., Bauer, B., Bauman, J., Barnouin, O. S., Bedini, P., & Beisser, K. (2015). The Pluto system: Initial results from its exploration by New Horizons. Science, 350 (6258), id.aad1815. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad1815
Tegler, S. C., Cornelison, D. M., Grundy, W. M., Romanishin, W., Abernathy, M., Bovyn, M., Burt, J., Evans, D., Maleszewski, C., Thompson, Z., & Vilas, F. (2010). Methane and Nitrogen Abundances on Eris and Pluto. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 42, 984.
Trowbridge, A. J., Melosh, H. J., & Freed, A. M. (2015). Vigorous Convection Underlies Pluto’s Surface Activity. American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #47, id.102.01
Vidmachenko, A. P. (2016). The floating ices on the surface of Pluto. 18 International scientific conference Astronomical School of Young Scientists (pp. 10–12). National Aviation University, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 26–27.
Vidmachenko, A. P. (2022). Features of seasonal changes on Pluto. Proceedings of the 8th International scientific and practical conference. Science, innovations and education: problems and prospects (pp. 108–116). Chapter 17. CPN Publishing Group. Tokyo, Japan, March 9–11.
Vidmachenko, A. P. (2024). About discovering and getting of all new information about the now dwarf planet Pluto. Proceedings of the XIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Modern science: fundamental and applied aspects” 9 (pp. 20–26). Beijing. China. December 30–31. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14638268
Vidmachenko, A. P. (2025a). Physical parameters of Pluto according to the results of remote observations and the earliest data from the flyby trajectory. Proceedings of the 6th International scientific and practical conference “Scientific achievements of contemporary society” (pp. 312–320). Chapter 60. Cognum Publishing House, London, United Kingdom. January 10–12.
Vidmachenko, A. P. (2025b). The chemical composition of Pluto’s atmosphere. The Proceedings of the 1st International Scientific and Practical Conference “Modern problems of science and technology” Section: Physical and mathematical sciences (pp. 62–68). European Open Science Space, Tallinn, Estonia. January 20–22.
Young, L. A. (2013). Pluto’s Seasons: New Predictions for New Horizons. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 766(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/766/2/L22
Zalucha, A. M. (2016). An atmospheric general circulation model for Pluto with predictions for New Horizons temperature profiles. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 459(1), 902–923. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw685

Full text PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/BTSNUA.2026.73.28-34

Received: 29.06.26
Revised: 27.07.26
Accepted: 28.07.26
Published: 13.11.26