A New Spectral Feature on the Trailing Hemisphere of Europa at 3.78 μm

Abstract

We present hemispherically resolved spectra of the surface of Europa from ~3.1–4.13 µm, which we obtained using the near-infrared spectrometer NIRSPEC on the Keck II telescope. These include the first high-quality L-band spectra of the surface to extend beyond 4 µm. In our data, we identify a previously unseen spectral feature at 3.78 µm on the trailing hemisphere. The longitudinal distribution of the feature is consistent with that of a radiolytic product created by electron or Iogenic ion bombardment. This feature is coincident with an absorption feature of SO_2 frost seen in both laboratory spectra and spectra of Io. However, the corresponding, typically stronger 4.07 µm feature of SO_2 frost is absent from our data. This result is contrary to the suggested detection of SO_2 at 4.05 µm in Galileo NIMS data of the trailing hemisphere, which was severely affected by radiation noise. We use simple spectral modeling to argue that the 3.78 µm feature is not easily explained by the presence of SO_2 frost on the surface. We explore alternative explanations and discuss other potential candidate species.

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