Magmatic intrusions control Io's crustal thickness

Abstract

Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, loses heat through eruptions of hot lava. Heat is supplied by tidal heating and is thought to be transferred through the mantle by magmatic segregation, a mode of transport that sets it apart from convecting terrestrial planets. We present a model that couples magmatic transport of tidal heat to the volcanic system in the crust, in order to determine the controls on crustal thickness, magmatic intrusions, and eruption rates. We demonstrate that magmatic intrusions are a key component of Io's crustal heat balance; around 80% of the magma delivered to the base of the crust must be emplaced and frozen as plutons to match rough estimates of crustal thickness. As magma ascends from a partially molten mantle into the crust, a decompacting boundary layer forms, which can explain inferred observations of a high-melt-fraction region.

arXiv commentAccepted to JGR:Planets. 24 pages inc appendices and references. 7 figures

References in corpus (7)

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• Interior Structures and Tidal Heating in the TRAPPIST-1 Planets
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Cited by in corpus (3)

• A subsurface magma ocean on Io: Exploring the steady state of partially molten planetary bodies
• Compositional layering in Io driven by magmatic segregation and volcanism
• Tidal controls on the lithospheric thickness and topography of Io from magmatic segregation and volcanism modelling