Unraveling Io’s Atmospheric Mysteries: Gaps, Contradictions, and Open Questions

Io’s atmospheric loss mechanisms and their impact on the Jovian magnetosphere remain poorly understood. Despite assumptions linking volcanic activity to plasma torus variations, observational data show no definitive correlation. Key uncertainties include transient atmospheric changes, the role of volcanic outgassing, and connections between mass loss, dust, and auroral phenomena.

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Abstract

Appendix, Acknowledgements, and References

3.4 Gaps in understanding, contradictions, and inconsistencies

3.4.1 Significant increases in atmospheric loss inconsistent with current understanding

It can be assumed with some confidence that the volatiles from Io that supply the torus must first populate the moon’s atmosphere. As summarized in Sections 2.3 and 2.4, the loss from the atmosphere to neutral clouds and local ionization and pick-up into the torus is primarily due to collisions of the magnetospheric plasma with the atmosphere ...