Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys
We used data from the Juno spacecraft to investigate both the spatial and temporal properties of Loki Patera on Io, acquired in two infrared bands between 2022 December and 2024 April, at pixel sizes ranging from 400 m to 15 km. Loki shows a thermal structure unlike other active lava lakes previousl...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ada27c |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1825206575920316416 |
|---|---|
| author | Alessandro Mura Rosaly M. C. Lopes Federico Tosi Francesca Zambon Roberto Sordini Peter J. Mouginis-Mark Julie Rathbun Scott Bolton Jani Radebaugh Alberto Adriani Andrea Cicchetti Davide Grassi Melissa Mirino Raffaella Noschese Giuseppe Piccioni Christina Plainaki Giuseppe Sindoni |
| author_facet | Alessandro Mura Rosaly M. C. Lopes Federico Tosi Francesca Zambon Roberto Sordini Peter J. Mouginis-Mark Julie Rathbun Scott Bolton Jani Radebaugh Alberto Adriani Andrea Cicchetti Davide Grassi Melissa Mirino Raffaella Noschese Giuseppe Piccioni Christina Plainaki Giuseppe Sindoni |
| author_sort | Alessandro Mura |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We used data from the Juno spacecraft to investigate both the spatial and temporal properties of Loki Patera on Io, acquired in two infrared bands between 2022 December and 2024 April, at pixel sizes ranging from 400 m to 15 km. Loki shows a thermal structure unlike other active lava lakes previously reported, with some brightening near the lake’s perimeter but lacking the continuous “hot ring” seen at other paterae. Modeling the slow rate of cooling suggests there is a significant volume of magma beneath the crust to provide the latent heat necessary to decelerate the cooling. A thermal propagation that may represent the signature of a resurfacing wave, going from the southwest of the lake to the north, was observed with a velocity of ∼2–3 km day ^−1 . Data collected in 2024 may indicate the onset of a new resurfacing wave originating from a point source, rather than the foundering of a linear section of the crust. We also observed many small (∼3 km wide), closely spaced (∼10 km apart) islands that have persisted in the same locations for at least 45 years, since first being imaged by Voyager 1. The persistence of these islands challenges resurfacing models of Loki, as they have remained fixed—likely anchored to the lava lake floor—and have not noticeably changed in size, arguing against large-scale thermal erosion. The central island of Loki shows a few thermal structures associated with the fractures that cross the island, indicating that the fractures most likely contain molten lava. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8f048ad3f0da4e02a9509c242ceb4953 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-8f048ad3f0da4e02a9509c242ceb49532025-02-07T08:19:07ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-01624310.3847/PSJ/ada27cObservations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close FlybysAlessandro Mura0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4552-4292Rosaly M. C. Lopes1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-3167Federico Tosi2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4002-2434Francesca Zambon3Roberto Sordini4Peter J. Mouginis-Mark5Julie Rathbun6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7619-652XScott Bolton7Jani Radebaugh8Alberto Adriani9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4998-8008Andrea Cicchetti10Davide Grassi11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1653-3066Melissa Mirino12Raffaella Noschese13Giuseppe Piccioni14Christina Plainaki15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1483-5052Giuseppe Sindoni16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3348-7930Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USAIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyHawaii Institute Geophysics and Planetology , Honolulu, HI, USACornell University , Ithaca, NY, USASouthwest Research Institute , San Antonio, TX, USABrigham Young University , Provo, UT, USAIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Rome, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Rome, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Rome, ItalyWe used data from the Juno spacecraft to investigate both the spatial and temporal properties of Loki Patera on Io, acquired in two infrared bands between 2022 December and 2024 April, at pixel sizes ranging from 400 m to 15 km. Loki shows a thermal structure unlike other active lava lakes previously reported, with some brightening near the lake’s perimeter but lacking the continuous “hot ring” seen at other paterae. Modeling the slow rate of cooling suggests there is a significant volume of magma beneath the crust to provide the latent heat necessary to decelerate the cooling. A thermal propagation that may represent the signature of a resurfacing wave, going from the southwest of the lake to the north, was observed with a velocity of ∼2–3 km day ^−1 . Data collected in 2024 may indicate the onset of a new resurfacing wave originating from a point source, rather than the foundering of a linear section of the crust. We also observed many small (∼3 km wide), closely spaced (∼10 km apart) islands that have persisted in the same locations for at least 45 years, since first being imaged by Voyager 1. The persistence of these islands challenges resurfacing models of Loki, as they have remained fixed—likely anchored to the lava lake floor—and have not noticeably changed in size, arguing against large-scale thermal erosion. The central island of Loki shows a few thermal structures associated with the fractures that cross the island, indicating that the fractures most likely contain molten lava.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ada27cIoVolcanism |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Mura Rosaly M. C. Lopes Federico Tosi Francesca Zambon Roberto Sordini Peter J. Mouginis-Mark Julie Rathbun Scott Bolton Jani Radebaugh Alberto Adriani Andrea Cicchetti Davide Grassi Melissa Mirino Raffaella Noschese Giuseppe Piccioni Christina Plainaki Giuseppe Sindoni Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys The Planetary Science Journal Io Volcanism |
| title | Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys |
| title_full | Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys |
| title_fullStr | Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys |
| title_short | Observations of Loki Patera by Juno during Close Flybys |
| title_sort | observations of loki patera by juno during close flybys |
| topic | Io Volcanism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ada27c |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alessandromura observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT rosalymclopes observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT federicotosi observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT francescazambon observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT robertosordini observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT peterjmouginismark observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT julierathbun observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT scottbolton observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT janiradebaugh observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT albertoadriani observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT andreacicchetti observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT davidegrassi observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT melissamirino observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT raffaellanoschese observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT giuseppepiccioni observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT christinaplainaki observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys AT giuseppesindoni observationsoflokipaterabyjunoduringcloseflybys |