Remote Sensing Of Thermally Induced Activity On Io And Mars

by Milazzo, Moses Pollen.

My dissertation details the work I have done related to remote sensing of thermal activity on Io and thermal remote sensing used in the search for oases on Mars. At Io, I studied two volcanoes, Tvashtar and Prometheus and their thermal activity. At Mars, I investigated suggestions of a possible oasis in one of the youngest volcanic regions, Cerberus Fossae and nearby areas of SE Elysium. Tvashtar was the site of the first high-spatial-resolution observation of an extraterrestrial lava curtain. The Tvashtar complex was also the site of a large, confined eruption a few months after the fissure eruption. I discuss the work involved in estimating the brightness temperatures and power output of both eruptions as seen by the Galileo SSI. I also discuss cooling and eruption-style models and their application to Tvashtar. In every geometrically correct observation of Prometheus, we have seen a 100 km tall SO2 gas and dust plume above its flow field. This plume and field migrated ?80 km between the Voyager and Galileo eras. I describe the work I performed in modeling the plume’s creation as lavavolatile interactions at the flow fronts. My Mars research entailed the search for thermal systems and constraints on nearsurface water ice in an equatorial region that contains some of the youngest lava flows on Mars. This region, SE Elysium, also shows evidence of contemporaneous water and lava. 11 Life as we know it requires a source of energy and liquid water, so a geologically young region containing both water and energy is an obvious place to study. I show, however, that the recent suggestions of extant near-surface water ice and possible endogenic energy escape are not necessary, and that the thermal imaging of the region requires rock rather than water ice near the surface. I also show that the current instruments at Mars are insufficient for the remote discovery of thermal reservoirs and then discuss some possible remedies. 12