Inferred heat transfer mechanisms and tectonic development of planets and satellites

A schematic diagram showing the relative importance of conduction, convection and hotspots as heat transfer mechanisms on planets has been previously described by Solomon and Head (1982). In their construction they assumed that the majority of heat transfer on Earth involved mantle convection (and hence, plate recycling), with Io and Mercury dominated by hotspot and conduction, respectively. This diagram is here quantified and used to deduce the tectonic regime of Jovian and Saturnian satellites.