Radioactive decay
Heating in Enceladus has occurred through various mechanisms ever since its formation. Radioactive decay in its core may have initially heated it, giving it a warm core and a subsurface ocean, which is now kept above freezing through an unidentified mechanism. Geophysical models indicate that tidal heating is a main heat source, perhaps aided by radioactive decay and some heat-producing chemical reactions. A 2007 study predicted the internal heat of Enceladus, if generated by tidal forces, could be no greater than 1.1 gigawatts, but data from "Cassini's" infrared spectrometer of the south polar terrain over 16 months, indicate that the internal heat generated power is about 4.7 gigawatts, and suggest that it is in thermal equilibrium.