JIRAM Observations of Volcanic Flux on Io: Distribution and Comparison to Tidal Heat Flow Models

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: M. Pettine, S. Imbeah, J. Rathbun, A. Hayes, R. M. C. Lopes, A. Mura, F. Tosi, F. Zambon, S. Bertolino
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2024
• Subjects: io; volcanism; tidal heating; remote sensing; JIRAM; Juno; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105782; https://doaj.org/article/00d11cc7c039451d9c42151f39d4db56

Abstract Juno has allowed clear, high‐resolution imaging of Io's polar volcanoes using the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument. We have used data from JIRAM's M‐band (4.78 μm) imager from 11 Juno orbits to construct a global map of volcanic flux. This map provides short‐term insight into the spatial distribution of volcanoes and the ways in which high‐ and low‐latitude volcanoes differ. Using spherical harmonic analysis, we quantitatively compare our volcanic flux map to the surface heat flow distribution expected from models of Io's tidal heat deposition (summarized in de Kleer, Park, et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.26206/d4wc‐6v82). Our observations confirm previously detected systems of bright volcanoes at high latitudes. Our study finds that both poles are comparably active and that the observed flux distribution is inconsistent with an asthenospheric heating model, although the south pole is viewed too infrequently to establish reliable trends.