Density and Temperature of Io's Atmosphere from Mid-Infrared Observations, 2001 to 2010: Continued Evidence for Inflation as Perihelion Approaches

Details Density and Temperature of Io's Atmosphere from Mid-Infrared Observations, 2001 to 2010: Continued Evidence for Inflation as Perihelion Approaches Density and Temperature of Io's Atmosphere from Mid-Infrared Observations, 2001 to 2010: Continued Evidence for Inflation as Perihelion Approaches

Oct 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2601t&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #26.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1024

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Io's thin atmosphere is ultimately supplied by the injection of SO2 by constant volcanic eruptions. However, the questions of to what degree the atmosphere is directly supported by volcanic supply compared to support by the sublimation of volcanically-derived SO2 frost on the surface is still debated. We present a re-analysis of 19 um spectra of Io's SO2 atmosphere from the TEXES mid-infrared high spectral resolution spectrograph on NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility. New data spanning between January 2005 and June 2010 have been obtained. Incorporating these with previously-published data spanning from November 2001 through to January 2004, we have fitted 14 blended absorption lines of the V2 SO2 vibrational band to retrieve both the global mean values of SO2 column abundance and the kinetic temperature of the gas. By constraining kinetic temperature directly from the spectra rather than by indirect means, this new method provides a more resilient analysis of the complex non-LTE lines seen at 19 um. The 2001 to 2010 global mean column abundances vary with heliocentric distance in a way that appears to be consistent with an atmosphere that is supported by the sublimation of SO2 surface frost, which is warmer with higher vapor pressure, near perihelion. June 2010 observations, obtained less than a year before perihelion, showed the strongest SO2 lines yet observed. No correlation in the gas temperature was seen with the increasing SO2 column densities.

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