INFRARED SPECTRAL STUDIES OF THE THERMALLY-DRIVEN CHEMISTRY PRESENT ON ICY SATELLITES

Abstract

Remote sensing of Jupiter's icy satellites has revealed that even though their surfaces are composed mostly of water ice, molecules such as SO$_2$, CO$_2$, H$_2$O$_2$, O$_2$, and O$_3$ also are present. On Europa, a high radiation flux is believed to play a role in the formation of many of the minor species detected, and numerous laboratory studies have been devoted to explore this hypothesis. In this presentation we will discuss some of our recent research on another alteration pathway, thermally-driven chemical reactions, which are also important for understanding the chemical evolution of Europa's surface and sub-surface ices. We will focus on the infrared spectra of and reactions between H$_2$O, SO$_2$, and H$_2$O$_2$ at 80 - 130 K.