Diapirism on Triton: A record of crustal layering and instability

Cantaloupe terrain on Neptune's large, icy satellite Triton comprises an organized cellular pattern of noncircular dimples that structurally and geologically most closely resemble salt diapirs exposed on Earth. The mean separation of these cells is 47 km. Modeling of the cells as compositionally driven diapirs suggests that cantaloupe terrain forms by gravity-driven overturn within an ice crust ∼20 km thick with a maximum viscosity of 10²² Pa ⋅ s. These diapirs probably formed as a result of a density inversion in a layered crust composed partly of ice phases other than water ice.