The interaction of Io’s plumes and sublimation atmosphere
Autor: | Philip L. Varghese, David Goldstein, Laurence M. Trafton, William McDoniel |
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Rok vydání: | 2017 |
Předmět: |
Sunlight
geography geography.geographical_feature_category 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Analytic model Astronomy and Astrophysics Volcanism Atmospheric sciences 01 natural sciences Plume Astrobiology law.invention Volcano Space and Planetary Science law 0103 physical sciences Environmental science Sublimation (phase transition) Direct simulation Monte Carlo Hydrostatic equilibrium 010303 astronomy & astrophysics 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
Zdroj: | Icarus. 294:81-97 |
ISSN: | 0019-1035 |
Popis: | Io’s volcanic plumes are the ultimate source of its SO2 atmosphere, but past eruptions have covered the moon in surface frost which sublimates in sunlight. Today, Io’s atmosphere is a result of some combination of volcanism and sublimation, but it is unknown exactly how these processes work together to create the observed atmosphere. We use the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to model the interaction of giant plumes with a sublimation atmosphere. Axisymmetric plume/atmosphere simulations demonstrate that the total mass of SO2 above Io’s surface is only poorly approximated as the sum of independent volcanic and sublimated components. A simple analytic model is developed to show how variation in the mass of erupting gas above Io’s surface can counteract variation in the mass of its hydrostatic atmosphere as surface temperature changes over a Jupiter year. Three-dimensional, unsteady simulations of giant plumes over an Io day are also presented, showing how plume material becomes suspended in the sublimation atmosphere. We find that a plume which produces some total mass above Io’s surface at night will cause a net increase in the noon-time atmosphere of only a fraction of the night-time value. However, as much as seven times the night-side mass of the plume will become suspended in the sublimation atmosphere, altering its composition and displacing sublimated material. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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