So its geyser eruptions are the primary source of water in Saturn's atmosphere (from this thread). And they even manage to contaminate Titan's atmosphere with it.
But has the outgassing rate decreased over time? Could it eventually run out of water?
So its geyser eruptions are the primary source of water in Saturn's atmosphere (from this thread). And they even manage to contaminate Titan's atmosphere with it.
But has the outgassing rate decreased over time? Could it eventually run out of water?
According to http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-strongest-evidence-icy-saturn-moon.html, Enceladus is losing 440 pounds of water vapor per second. Given Enceladus' mass of 1.08 x 10^20 kg, the maximum length of time this could go on is about 17 billion years! Hence, it can continue losing water vapor like this essentially indefinitely, at least as long as the orbital resonances with Dione, a larger satellite of Saturn, continue.