Physics
Scientific paper
May 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agusm.p24a..05b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P24A-05
Physics
6033 Magnetospheres (2756), 6280 Saturnian Satellites, 2151 Neutral Particles (7837), 2732 Magnetosphere Interactions With Satellites And Rings, 2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033)
Scientific paper
Before the arrival of Cassini at Saturn, Hubble Space Telescope observations revealed a substantial cloud formed from the dissociation products of water (Shemansky et al. 1993). The origin of this cloud was uncertain as known sources of water (sputtering off the icy satellites and rings, for example) do not provide a sufficient water supply to explain the observations (Jurac et al. 2001). Observations by a wide array of Cassini instruments, however, have shed light into the extent, composition, and source of this cloud. The Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) imaged a extensive neutral oxygen cloud during Cassini's approach to Saturn (Esposito et al 2005). This cloud, like the OH cloud, is produced from the dissociation of a water torus encircling Saturn. The source of this water is one of the great unexpected discoveries of the Cassini mission: a plume of water molecules and ice grains streaming from the south pole of the icy moon Enceladus. Although the mechanism responsible for this plume is still being determined, observations by a number of instruments (UVIS, CAPS, INMS, MAG, ISS, CDA) suggest that more than 10 times as much water is ejected into orbit around Saturn by the plume as is supplied by sputtering processes. We present a model of the water product distribution around Saturn based on the loss of water from Enceladus. Water supply rates are constrained by the water plume observations. The water cloud is closely confined to Enceladus' orbital distance, but, due to the low H2O loss rate, forms a uniform torus about Saturn. The extent of this cloud is limited by the initial velocity of H2O escaping from Enceladus. Production rates of O, OH, and O2 are determined by reactions between water molecules and the magnetospheric plasma measured by CAPS, as well as by photo-dissociation of H2O. These secondary clouds are more extended than the primary water cloud due to the extra energy imparted to the reaction products.
Burger Matthew Howard
Coates Andrew J.
Johnson Robert E.
Rymer Abigail M.
Sittler Edward C.
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