Monitoring Volcanic Activity on Io

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

AST 0406275 De Pater Io, with its tidal-heating driven volcanoes and complex interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere, is one of the most remarkable bodies in the solar system. Although the satellite has been studied extensively by spacecraft, many questions remain unanswered. In particular the heating and heat loss processes are not understood in any detail. It also is still a mystery why certain volcanoes are associated with gas plumes and others are not at all. These questions might be answered ultimately if the frequency, spatial distribution, and eruption style of volcanoes are known. These parameters can only be derived by monitoring Io from the ground using Adaptive Optics (AO) techniques on large ground-based telescopes. Dr. De Pater and her collaborators will continue a program of high resolution observations with the Keck telescopes, on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and an extension to the Gemini telescopes, in Hawaii and Chile, the Very Large Telescope, in Chile, the 3-meter telescope at Lick Observatory, and the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This may be the only way to map ongoing volcanic activity and chart changes on Io. Only through excellent temporal coverage can one set limits on the amount of, and variations in, the total heat flow and the latitudinal and longitudinal distribution of this activity. These limits will be compared with those derived from eruption rates via volcano thermal models and with tidal heating models. Students and the public love Io with its giant volcanoes. It is an ideal subject for public presentations and for classroom teaching, where chemistry, physics, geophysics, and astronomy can be combined. Graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in the data processing and analysis techniques on this project. Hawaiian students will be involved in Io observations at the IRTF. ***