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Science 6 December 1974:
Vol. 186. no. 4167, pp. 922 - 925
DOI: 10.1126/science.186.4167.922
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Articles

Io: A Surface Evaporite Deposit?

F. P. Fanale 1, T. V. Johnson 1, and D. L. Matson 1

1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena 91103

A model is suggested for Io's surface composition involving evaporite salt deposits, rich in sodium and sulfur. According to this model, these deposits were produced as a result of the migration of salt-saturated aqueous solutions to Io's surface from a warm or hot interior followed by loss of the water to space. This model satisfies cosmochemical constraints based on Io's initial composition, current density, and thermal history. Salt-rich assemblages are easily derivable from the leaching of carbonaceous chondritic material; the chemical and optical properties of such deposits, after modification by irradiation, can be used to explain Io's overall albedo and spectral reflectance, its dark reddish poles, and the observed sodium emission as well as or better than other currently suggested materials.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Hydrogen Sulfide on IO: Evidence from Telescopic and Laboratory Infrared Spectra.
D. B. Nash, D. B. NASH, and R. R. HOWELL (1989)
Science 244, 454-457
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Jupiter System Through the Eyes of Voyager 1.
B. A. Smith, B. A. SMITH, L. A. SODERBLOM, T. V. JOHNSON, A. P. INGERSOLL, S. A. COLLINS, E. M. SHOEMAKER, G. E. HUNT, H. MASURSKY, M. H. CARR, et al. (1979)
Science 204, 951-972
   Abstract »    PDF »
Images of Io's Sodium Cloud.
D. L. MATSON, B. A. GOLDBERG, T. V. JOHNSON, and R. W. CARLSON (1978)
Science 199, 531-533
   Abstract »    PDF »


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