Volcanic Activity of Io Monitored with Keck-10m AO in 2003-2004

Details Volcanic Activity of Io Monitored with Keck-10m AO in 2003-2004 Volcanic Activity of Io Monitored with Keck-10m AO in 2003-2004

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufm.v33c1483m&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #V33C-1483

Physics

Optics

8400 Volcanology, 8419 Eruption Monitoring (7280), 8450 Planetary Volcanism (5480), 8494 Instruments And Techniques, 5464 Remote Sensing

Scientific paper

With the demise of the Galileo mission, the monitoring of Io volcanic activity lies in the hands of ground-based observers. Our group regularly observed Io with the Keck-10m Adaptive Optics (AO) system and its NIRC-2 camera at 1-5 microns wavelength range. The angular resolution achieved is 0.05" in Kc band (2.2 microns), i.e. 120-140 km on Io at opposition. Approximately 5 to 8 active volcanic centers are usually detected on one 3 or 5 microns AO image with a T between 500 and 1000 K. On rare occasions, we detected the thermal output at shorter wavelength (1-2.5 micron) indicating a colour temperature >1300 K. For instance, our data revealed the presence on Jan. 26, 2003, of a bright eruption close to Janus Patera (5±3S, 39±3W) with intensity in Lp band (3.8 micron) of 11±1 GW/sr/micron and ˜2 GW/sr/micron in Kc band (2.2 micron). Another bright eruption close to Tupan Patera (16±4S, 137±4W) was seen on Mar. 8, 2003 (UT) with a I(Lp)=18 ±1 GW/sr/micron and I(Kc) ˜3 GW/sr/micron. More recently, data taken on May 28 and 30, 2004, show the thermal emission of an eruptive center (called 0405A) located at 17±2 S, 6±1W (close to Ilmarinera Patera which has never been seen active) with a I(Kc) ˜7 GW/sr/micron and I(Lp)=166±6 GW/sr/micron. This energetic eruption was also detected in H band (1.6 micron) with I(H) ˜3 GW/sr/micron. Because we obtained the brightness of these eruptions in at least three different wavelengths, we can perform a more precise analysis of their activity using a basaltic cooling lava flow model (Davies, 1996). In the case of 0405A, we can conclude that we are observing an episode of fire-fountaining (a young, hot event) whose total output is estimated to ˜9E12 W (i.e. 10% of Io average total output), more energetic than Tvashtar 2001. The source of these active centers and their activity will be compared with previous Galileo NIMS/SSI observations. We will conclude describing how the future use of AO technique will help to monitor and understand this extraterrestrial and exotic volcanism.

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