Seasonal and longitudinal variability in Io's SO2 atmosphere from 22 years of IRTF/TEXES observations

TL;DR

This study analyzes 22 years of mid-infrared observations of Io's SO2 atmosphere, revealing stable seasonal and longitudinal variability patterns and detecting seasonal changes on the Jupiter-facing side, influenced by eclipses and volcanic activity.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of seasonal variability on Io's Jupiter-facing hemisphere and confirms the stability of longitudinal atmospheric patterns over two Jovian years.

Findings

Seasonal variability repeats over two Jovian years.

Longitudinal atmospheric density differences are stable.

Seasonal changes on the Jupiter-facing side are detected.

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2023, we obtained high spectral resolution mid-infrared observations of Io using the TEXES instrument at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility. These observations were centered at 529.8 cm-1 (18.88 {\mu}m) and include several SO2 absorption lines. By modeling the shapes and strengths of these absorption lines, we are able to determine how Io's SO2 atmospheric density varies over the 22-year time period, covering nearly two Jovian years. Previous analysis has shown that the density of Io's atmosphere on the anti-Jovian hemisphere exhibits clear seasonal temporal variability, which can be modeled as the sum of a seasonally-varying frost sublimation component and a constant component, assumed to be volcanic. The new data show that the seasonal pattern repeats during the second Jovian year, confirming the importance of sublimation support. The considerable longitudinal variability in Io's atmospheric density found in previous work is also stable over the second Jovian year with the SO2 column density on the Jupiter-facing hemisphere being 5--8 times lower than the anti-Jovian hemisphere. For the first time, we detect seasonal variability on the Jupiter-facing hemisphere as well. This can also be modeled as a combination of sublimation and a small constant source. The lower atmospheric density on the Jupiter-facing hemisphere can plausibly be explained by the daily Jupiter eclipses, which decrease the surface temperature and therefore reduce the sublimation-driven component of the atmosphere, combined with a lower level of volcanic activity directly emitting SO2 into the atmosphere.