7/1/2023 0 Comments Does io moon have water![]() We might also consider that the sulfur is simply easier to see on Io than on Earth. The alpha ladder is why we see so much carbon, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron in the universe. The reason for this abundance is that 32S is on the alpha ladder, a fusion process that eventually results in the production of 56Ni (which quickly decays into 56Co and then 56Fe) in supernovae. With regard to where all that sulfur came from, sulphur 32 is the tenth most abundant isotope in the Solar System and in the Galaxy. While Io can't quite hold onto its thin atmosphere of sulfur dioxide, the decreased volatility means that a good portion of that vented sulfur dioxide gas condenses and falls to Io's surface, eventually to be recycled into Io's interior. Sulfur dioxide is 45% denser than is CO 2, and is significantly less volatile that are either water or CO 2. ![]() Water and carbon dioxide are both light and highly volatile. If Io ever did have water, it lost it long ago. The volatiles released by Io's volcanos are mostly sulfuric compounds. In the case of Io, there's no water, and very little carbon dioxide. Much more severe volcanic eruptions are now believed to be responsible for many of the extinction events, including the biggest of all, the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Both of these eruptions had very significant (but short-lived) impacts on the Earth's climate. ![]() ![]() The 1783-1784 eruption of Laki in Iceland and the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the Philipines dumped massive quantities of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. In the case of volcanos on Earth, those volatiles include water, carbon dioxide, and various gaseous sulfur compounds. Io's volcanos are instead somewhat similar to volcanos on the Earth, where the primary product is mafic rock (possibly ultramafic rock in the case of Io), but with lots of volatiles as secondary products. It's erroneous to think of those volcanos on Io as sulphur volcanos. ![]()
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