Abstract
Our knowledge of Io’s atmosphere has improved dramatically in the last fifteen years, with a wealth of new observational data at millimeter, UV and IR wavelengths, and the development of numerous models describing its horizontal and vertical structure, composition, photochemistry and plasma interaction. Io’s atmosphere is dominantly composed of SO2, present mostly at low-tomid latitudes with column densities of a few 1016 cm−2 and important (factors of 5-10) longitudinal variations. Minor compounds include SO, S2, and NaCl. Sublimation equilibrium with SO2 frost and direct volcanic output coexist to maintain Io’s atmosphere against condensation, photolytic and escape losses.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ballester, G.E., McGrath, M.A., Strobel, D.F., Zhu, X., Feldman, P.D., and Moos, H.W.: 1992, ‘Detection of the SO2 atmosphere on Io with the Hubble Space Telescope’, Icarus 88, 1–23.
Cheng, A.F., Haff, P.K., Johnson, R.E., and Lanzerotti, L.J.: 1986, ‘Interactions of planetary magnetospheres with icy satellites surfaces’, in J.A. Burns and M.S. Matthews (eds.), Satellites, The University of Arizona Press, pp. 403–406.
Clarke, J., Ajello, J., Luhmann, J., Schneider, N., and Kank, I.: 1994, ‘Hubble Space Telescope UV spectral observations of Io passing into eclipse’, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 8387–8402.
De Pater, I., Roe, H., Graham, J.R., Strobel, D.F., and Bernath, P.: 2002, ‘Detection of the forbidden SO a11 }–X36- rovibronic transition on Io at 1.7 μm’, Icarus 156, 296–301.
Douté, S., Schmitt, B., Lopes-Gautier, R., Carlson, R., Soderblom, L., Shirley, J., and the Galileo- NIMS team: 2001, ‘Mapping SO2 frost on Io by the modeling of NIMS hyperspectral images’, Icarus 149, 107–132.
Fanale, F.P., Banerdt, W.B., Elson, L.S., Johnson, T.V., and Zurek, R.W.: 1982, ‘Io’s surface - its phase composition and influence on Io’s atmosphere and Jupiter’s magnetosphere’, in D. Morrison (ed.), Satellites of Jupiter, The University of Arizona Press, pp. 756–781.
Fegley, B. Jr. and Zolotov, M.Yu.: 2000, ‘Chemistry of sodium, potassium, and chlorine in volcanic gases on Io’, Icarus 148, 193–210.
Ingersoll, A.P.: 1989, ‘Io meteorology – How atmospheric pressure is controlled locally by volcanos and surface frost’, Icarus 81, 298–313.
Ingersoll, A.P., Summer, M.E., and Schlipf, S.G.: 1985, ‘Supersonic meteorology of Io –Sublimation-driven flow of SO2’, Icarus 64, 375–390.
Jessup, K.L., Spencer, J.R., Ballester, G.E., Howell, R., Roessler, F., Vigel, M., and Yelle, R.: 2004, ‘The atmospheric signature of Io’s Prometheus plume and anti-jovian hemisphere: Evidence for a sublimation atmosphere’, Icarus 169, 197–215.
Johnson, R.E.: 1989, ‘Plasma heating of an SO2 atmosphere on Io’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 16, 1117–1120.
Kerton, C.R., Fanale, F.P., and Salvail, J.R.: 1996, ‘The state of SO2 on Io’s surface’, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 7555–7564.
Lellouch, E.: 1996, ‘Io’s atmosphere: not yet understood’, Icarus 124, 1–21.
Lellouch, E., Belton, M., De Pater, I., Paubert, G., Gulkis, S., and Encrenaz, T.: 1992, ‘The structure, stability, and global distribution of Io’s atmosphere’, Icarus 98, 271–295.
Lellouch, E., Strobel, D.F., Belton, M.J., Summers, M.E., Paubert, G., and Moreno, R.: 1996, ‘Detection of sulfur monoxide in Io’s atmosphere’, Astrophys. J. 459, L107–L110.
Lellouch, E., Paubert, G., Moses, J.I., Schneider, N.M., and Strobel, D.F.: 2003, ‘Volcanically emitted sodium chloride as a source for Io’s neutral clouds and plasma torus’, Nature 421, 45–47.
Matson, D.L. and Nash, D.B.: 1983, ‘Io’s atmophere: pressure control by regolith cold trapping and surface venting’, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 4771–4783.
McGrath, M.A., Belton, M.J.S., Spencer, J.R., and Sartoretti, P.: 2000, ‘Spatially resolved spectroscopy of Io’s Pele plume and SO2 atmosphere’, Icarus 146, 476–493.
McGrath, M.A., Lellouch, E., Strobel, D.F., Feldman, P.D., and Johnson, R.E.: 2004, ‘Satellite atmospheres’, in F. Bagenal (ed.), Jupiter: the Planet, Satellites, Magnetosphere, Cambridge University Press, in press.
Moses, J.I., Zolotov, M.Yu., and Fegley, B.: 2002a, ‘Photochemistry in a volcanically driven atmosphere on Io: sulfur and oxygen species from a Pele-type eruption’, Icarus 156, 76–106.
Moses, J.I., Zolotov, M.Yu., and Fegley, B.: 2002b, ‘Alkali and chlorine photochemistry in a volcanically driven atmosphere on Io’, Icarus 156, 107–135.
Pearl, J., Hanel, R., Kunde, V., Maguire, W., Fox, K., Gupta, S., Ponnamperuma, C., and Raulin, F.: 1979, ‘Identification of gaseous SO2 and new upper limits for other gases on Io’, Nature 280, 755–758.
Sartoretti, P., Belton, M.J.S., and McGrath, M.A.: 1996, ‘SO2 distributions on Io’, Icarus 122, 273–287.
Saur, J. and Strobel, D.F.: 2004, ‘Relative contributions of sublimation and volcanoes to Io’s atmosphere inferred from its plasma interaction during solar eclipse’, in press.
Saur, J., Neubauer, F.M., Connerney, J.E.P., Zarka, P., and Kivelson, M.G.: 2004, ‘Plasma interaction of Io with its plasma torus’, in F. Bagenal (ed.), Jupiter: the Planet, Satellites, Magnetosphere, Cambridge University Press, in press.
Smythe, W.D., Nelson, R.M., and Nash, D.B.: 1979, ‘Spectral evidence for SO2 frost or adsorbate on Io’s surface’, Nature 280, 766–767.
Spencer, J.R., and Schneider N.M.: 1996, ‘Io on the eve of the Galileo mission’, Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 24, 125–190.
Spencer, J.R., Jessup, K.L., McGrath, M.A., Ballester, G.E., and Yelle, R.V.: 2000, ‘Discovery of S2 in Io’s Pele plume’, Science, 288, 1208–1210.
Spencer, J.R., Lellouch, E., Richter, M., Lopez-Valverde, M.-A., Jessup, K.L., Greathouse, T., and Flaud, J.-M.: 2004, ‘Mid-infrared detection of large longitudinal asymetries in Io’s SO2 atmosphere’, submitted.
Strobel, D.F., Zhu, X. and Summers, D.F.: 1994, ‘On the vertical thermal structure of Io’s atmosphere’, Icarus 111, 18–30.
Strobel, D.F. and Wolven, B.C.: 2001, ‘The atmosphere of Io: abundances and sources of sulfur dioxide and atomic hydrogen’, Astrophys. Space Sci. 277, 271–287.
Summers, M.E. and Strobel, D.F.: 1996, ‘Photochemistry and vertical transport in Io’s atmosphere and ionosphere’, Icarus 120, 290–316.
Trafton, L.M., Caldwell, J.J., Barnet, C., and Cunningham, C.C.: 1996, ‘The gaseous sulfur dioxide abundance over Io’s leading and trailing hemispheres: HST spectra of Io’s C1B2-X1A1 band of SO2 near 2100 Å’, Astrophys. J., 456, 384–392.
Trafton, L.M., Matson, D.L., and Stansberry, J.A.: 1998, ‘Surface/atmosphere interactions and volatile transport (Triton, Pluto, and Io)’, in B. Schmitt, de Bergh, C., and Festou, M. (eds.), Solar System Ices, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 773–812.
Wong, M.C. and Johnson, R.E.: 1996, ‘A three-dimensional azimuthally symmetric model atmosphere for Io. 1. Photochemistry and the accumulation of a nightside atmosphere’, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 23243–23254.
Wong, M.C. and Smyth, W.H.: 2000, ‘Model calculations for Io’s atmosphere at eastern and western elongation’, Icarus 146, 60–74.
Zhang, J., Goldstein, D.B., Varghese, P.L., Gimelshein, N.E., Gimelshein, S.F. and Levin, D.A.: 2003, ‘Simulation of gas dynamics and radiation in volcanic plumes on Io’, Icarus 163, 182–197.
Zolotov, M.Yu. and Fegley, B., Jr.: 1998, ‘Volcanic production of sulfur monoxide (SO) on Io’, Icarus 132, 431–434.
Zolotov, M.Yu. and Fegley, B., Jr.: 2000, ‘Eruption conditions of Pele volcano on Io inferred from chemistry of its volcanic plume’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 2789–2791.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lellouch, E. Io’s Atmosphere and Surface-Atmosphere Interactions. Space Sci Rev 116, 211–224 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-1957-z
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-1957-z