Other
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2612a&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #26.12; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1027
Other
Scientific paper
Loki is a large, active volcanic source on Jupiter's moon, Io, whose overall temperatures are well explained by current cooling models, but there are unexplainable subtleties. Using the SO2 atmospheric models of Ingersoll (1989) as a starting point, we are investigating how volatiles, specifically sulfur, are transported on the surface and how they modify the temperatures at Loki and other volcanoes. Voyager images reveal light colored deposits, colloquially called "sulfur bergs,” on Loki's dark patera floor that may be sulfur fumaroles. Galileo images show the presence of red short-chain sulfur deposits around the patera. We are investigating the mechanisms that lead to these features. The light deposits are a few kilometers across. Calculations of the mean free paths for day time conditions on Io indicate lengths on the order of 0.1 km while poorly constrained night time conditions indicate mean free paths about 100 times greater, on the order of what is needed to produce the deposits under ballistic conditions. Preliminary calculations reveal horizontal transport length scales for diffuse transport in a collisional atmosphere of approximately 30 km for sublimating S8 sulfur at 300 K. These length scales would be sufficient to move the sulfur from the warm patera floor to the locations of the red sulfur deposits. At a typical Loki temperature of 300 K, the sublimation/evaporation rate of S8 is a few tens of microns/day. It then requires just a few days to deposit an optically thick 100 µm layer of material. Preliminary length scales and sublimation rates are thus of sufficient scale to produce the deposits. Investigations into the sulfur transport and its effect on temperature are ongoing.
Allen Daniel R.
Howell Robert R.
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