Researchers from Cornell University have made a groundbreaking discovery about the role of volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io in understanding the process of tidal heating, a crucial factor in the formation and evolution of celestial bodies. By studying the inhospitable landscape of Io’s volcanoes, they shed light on the potential for life in other icy moons of the solar system.
Unsolved Mysteries in Tidal Heating Unlocking the Secret
Alongside its genuinely exciting findings, it seems that this study serves a reminder of the clear importance of tidal heating in enabling the subsurface oceans present to exist at all on Jupiter and Saturn’s moons.
Cornell astronomers report that Io, a moon of Jupiter, has massive lava waves rolling around its surface — and that Earth’s moon tugs on the ripples excruciatingly. Analysis published May 24 in Geophysical Research Letters shows the planet Mercury is least affected by tidal forces (represented by slushing magma equators in wild rotation) while our very own rocky orb ranks high (with Nessie-like lava tubes flowing just beneath the surface). The Cornell team examined flyby data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, revealing that Io is home to volcanic hot spots at its poles, which might help regulate tidal heating deep within its denser-than-ours magma center. The discovery is crucial to understanding the origins of heat inside ice-covered celestial bodies and its role in life-exploration on icy moons elsewhere in the Solar System.
Mapping complex volcanic surface patterning on Io: The researchers deconstructed Juno’s flyby maps using a mathematical equation, known as spherical harmonic decomposition, so they could map out the intricate patterns of volcanic activity on Io. And they were surprised to learn that most of Io’s active volcanoes lie at its poles instead of the equator, where volcanic activity is normally found. This surprising observation contradicts current models and sheds additional light on the enigmatic web of tidal forces vs. volcanism.
Relevance for Astrobiology
The tidal heating of icy moons may maintain interior liquid water oceans under the icy crust of planets such as called Europa and Enceladus near Jupiter and Saturn respectively. This makes these moons extremely appealing in the hunt for alien life since the liquid water is an essential ingredient.
“[W]e want to know where the heat is coming from,” study lead author Madeline Pettine said. “By studying volcanic activity — an extreme version of the tidal heating that’s happening at Ceres — we think we have a better understanding of these types of [heat-producing] events,” Nowinski said.
As many as 11 flybys have been conducted by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) imager, used by the researchers to find and map out Io’s volcanoes, noticing that both pole regions contained active volcanoes. The link between tidal heating, volcanic activity, and habitable environments in other icy moons of the solar system is a valuable one.
Conclusion
Io’s volcanism has afforded us a unique opportunity to observe the process of tidal heating, which is an important aspect in both shaping and aging of bodies throughout the solar system. Io’s polar volcanism also provides a novel life-detection target in the search for life on polar and temperate icy moons of the outer solar system, departing from conventional wisdom that has focused on warmer, more equatorial regions. The findings could help us to understand more about Io and the processes at work in other moons, particularly when it comes to investigating how different planets form — or perhaps even find evidence of life beyond Earth.
