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Data Processing Methods for 3D Seismic Imaging of Subsurface Volcanoes: Applications to the Tarim Flood Basalt
Published on: August 7, 2017
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Multi-phase volcanic resurfacing at Loki Patera on Io.
K de Kleer1, M Skrutskie2, J Leisenring3
1Department of Astronomy, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
Nature
|May 12, 2017
Summary
The Loki Patera on Jupiter's moon Io is resurfaced by a multi-phase process involving two waves. This volcanic activity reveals non-uniform lava gas content and crustal density across the patera.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Volcanology
- Geophysics
Background:
- Loki Patera on Jupiter's moon Io is the most powerful persistently active volcano in the Solar System.
- Previous observations suggested resurfacing every 1-3 years, progressing anti-clockwise, but lacked sufficient resolution to determine the exact process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map the thermal emission and lava cooling age of the entire Loki Patera floor.
- To establish the physical processes responsible for the resurfacing of Loki Patera.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ground-based interferometric imaging of thermal emission from Loki Patera.
- Obtained data on March 8, 2015, during a Europa occultation of Io.
- Achieved a spatial sampling of approximately two kilometers across the patera floor.
Main Results:
- Generated temperature and lava cooling age maps for the entire patera floor.
- Identified a multi-phase resurfacing process involving two distinct waves propagating and converging around the central island.
- Observed variations in wave velocities and start times, indicating non-uniformity in lava gas content and/or crustal bulk density.
Conclusions:
- The resurfacing of Loki Patera is a complex, multi-phase process, not a simple unidirectional flow.
- Inferred heterogeneity in the subsurface properties of Loki Patera based on the observed wave dynamics.
- This study provides unprecedented detail on the volcanic processes shaping this extreme Jovian environment.
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