Evidence for a topographically controlled sulfur dioxide deposit at Chaac caldera, Io

Details Evidence for a topographically controlled sulfur dioxide deposit at Chaac caldera, Io Evidence for a topographically controlled sulfur dioxide deposit at Chaac caldera, Io

Dec 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p11a..13s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P11A-13

Other

0370 Volcanic Effects (8409), 5416 Glaciation, 5480 Volcanism (8450), 6020 Ice, 6218 Jovian Satellites

Scientific paper

Sulfur Dioxide is ubiquitous on Io's surface. The presence of SO2 on Io has been recognized since the early seventies and the NIMS instrument mapped its widespread presence on Io in the nineties, during the Galileo prime mission. This mapping, obtained at resolutions varying from about 150 to 400 km/pixel showed that the strength of the SO2 absorptions varies considerably across Io's surface. When the relative band strengths are converted surface abundance it becomes evident that there is poor correlation between areas having high visible albedo (white areas) and areas having the highest concentrations of SO2. This result was unexpected, since pure SO2 frost is visibly white, and has been interpreted as evidence that SO2 often may be co-deposited with other materials. In contrast, observations obtained in February 2000 (orbit I28) and planned for October 2001 (orbit I32) by the NIMS and SSI instruments near the Chaac region, measure an area that exhibits one of the highest abundances of SO2 seen to date, and that is visibly very bright. The shape of this area is clearly controlled by topography, suggesting that the SO2 in the area was not emplaced by deposition. The high visible brightness of the deposit suggests that this SO2 was not deposited directly from a plume. The shape, color, and high abundance of SO2 in this deposit suggest that it may have been emplaced by liquid flow. The frequency of occurrence for deposits similar to this could not be estimated from the current Io data set, because the size of the feature, ~100 square kilometers, is below the spatial resolution of the available spectral maps of Io. However, NIMS observations planned for orbit I32 (Oct, 2001) will obtain high spatial resolution data both on Chaac and on other calderas that have high albedo at visible wavelengths. This work was supported by NASA through the Galileo and JSDAP programs.

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