New estimates for Io eruption temperatures: Implications for the interior

The initial interpretation of Galileo data from Jupiter's moon, to, suggested eruption temperatures >= 1600 degrees C. Tidal heating models have difficulties explaining Io's prodigious heat flow if the mantle is > 1300 degrees C, although we suggest that temperatures up to similar to 1450 degrees C may be possible. In general, Io eruption temperatures have been overestimated because the incorrect thermal model has been applied. Much of the thermal emission from high-temperature hot spots comes from lava fountains but lava flow models were utilized. We apply a new lava fountain model to the highest reported eruption temperature, the SSI observation of the 1997 eruption at Pillan. This resets the lower temperature limit for the eruption from similar to 1600 to similar to 1340 degrees C. Additionally, viscous heating of the magma may have increased eruption temperature by -50-100 degrees C as a result of the strong compressive stresses in the ionian lithosphere. While further work is needed, it appears that the discrepancy between observations and interior models is largely resolved. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.