Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2614c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #26.14
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The spectral difference between Europa's leading and trailing hemispheres has long been explained as a result of magnetospheric bombardment. A closer look at the longitudinal variation of ultraviolet spectral features reveals, however, that several processes, both exogenic and endogenic, are operating on the surface (Hendrix et al., 2010, submitted; Dalton et al., 2010, in preparation). Even magnetospheric bombardment can produce a variety of exogenic patterns; each "population” of particles has a distinct bombardment pattern. Work is ongoing to connect exogenic and spectral patterns. Here we describe one piece of that ongoing work, the calculation of ion bombardment and sputtering rates. We calculated the ion bombardment rate using a program that traces ion motion given the magnetic and electric fields in the vicinity of Europa's orbit, along with information on ion composition and energies from the Voyager and Galileo missions. We conclude that the vast majority of sulfur ions impact Europa's trailing hemisphere, while the sputtering rate is more uniform, in qualitative agreement with previous work. Overall, we find that the sputtering rate at the trailing hemisphere apex (where ion flux peaks) is about 3 times that at the leading hemisphere apex. This likely results in a net erosion of Europa's entire surface, not, as some have suggested, a net deposition of ice onto the leading hemisphere. We also conclude that the energetic ion flux peaks at Europa's poles, though the sputtering rate still peaks at the equatorial trailing hemisphere apex, where the combined sputtering by "cold” and "suprathermal” ions is highest.
Cassidy Timothy A.
Hendrix Alan
Johnson Robert E.
Paranicas Chris
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