Chemical Schemes for Surface Modification of Icy Satellites: a Road Map
M.L. Delitsky, A.L. Lane (JPL)
The icy Galilean satellites of Jupiter are subject to magnetospheric
plasma ion bombardment which induces chemical changes within the ice.
The possible detection of CO2 on the surfaces of these satellites
by the Galileo spacecraft (Carlson R.W.,et al.,Science, 274,385(1996))
makes for a more complicated chemistry and increases the number of
chemical compounds that may be present. We outline chemical
schemes for the irradiation of pure and mixed ices H2O/CO2 with
Jovian plasmas, which suggest that the following species should also
occur on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto: C3O2, H2CO3, H2O2, CO3, HO2,
CO, H2CO, CH2CO, KOH, and K2O. Column abundances of compounds in the
ice are calculated using a specified energy input, and 'G values'
(yield/100 eV). As an example, for Europa, column density of
H2O2 = 0.2064 g/cm2. Column density of H2CO = 0.4524 g/cm2 ,
and for H2CO3 =0.4703 g/cm2.