Despite 'Magma Ocean' Discovery, Io's Volcanic Heat Remains a Mystery | The Institute for Creation Research

Despite 'Magma Ocean' Discovery, Io's Volcanic Heat Remains a Mystery

Jupiter's moon Io may have a very short name, but it definitely has the highest volcanic activity of any object in the solar system. Littered with volcanoes, its unique surface sports a massive active volcano named Loki whose lava output exceeds that of all of earth's volcanoes put together. Of course, where there's smoke, there's fire, and the origin of Io's volcanic heat remains a mystery.

A recent creation astronomy video summarized the issue by stating, "If Io is young, it could still be cooling off from its initial formation. But if it's really billions of years old, that energy would have dissipated long ago."1 New measurements recently confirmed what researchers had expected for quite a while: Io has a molten or partly molten magma "ocean" beneath its crust.2

The study, published in the journal Science, found that magnetic signatures detected by the Galileo spacecraft cannot be explained if Io is entirely solid. But a 30-mile-thick molten or partly molten layer lying beneath the moon's crust would account for the magnetic data.3 Although the question of Io's volcanic lava source has been answered, the source of Io's heat has not been found.

In 1982, authors Pearl and Sinton wrote in Satellites of Jupiter, a compilation of research on Jupiter's moons, "Complete elucidation of the heat source remains a significant outstanding problem resulting from the discovery of active volcanism on Io."4 And since then, no long-age models have been able to match the measured heat output of this tiny fiery sphere.

Specifically, Io emits 1014 watts of power, approximately equal to the output of 10 trillion light bulbs. Virtually all attempts to model Io's heat refer to its "tidal friction." This occurs when Io is pulled in different directions by the gravitational attraction of Jupiter on one side and the planet's other moons on the other side. This causes flexing that generates heat beneath Io's crust, although not enough to account for its massive heat output.

A review paper on the Io heat problem referenced German planet scientist Tilman Spohn, who "acknowledges that there is a gap of about one order of magnitude between the observed heat flow from infrared measurements and the heat flow theoretically determined from tidal [friction] dissipation models."5 Io's heat output is therefore around ten times greater than the long-age models say it should be.

The lead author of the Science study said in a Jet Propulsion Laboratory news release, "Scientists are excited we finally understand where Io's magma is coming from and have an explanation for some of the mysterious signatures we saw in some of the Galileo's magnetic field data."2 But this new insight about magma only serves to confirm that Io's interior is hot enough to melt rock! Io therefore continues to torch "billions of years" theories that end in shoulder-shrugging non-explanations for the planet's heat problem. Like so many other objects in the solar system, Io looks quite young.

References

  1. What You Aren't Being Told about Astronomy, Volume 1: Our Created Solar System. 2009. DVD. Directed by Spike Psarris. Creation Astronomy Media.
  2. Galileo Data Reveal Magma Ocean Under Jupiter Moon. Jet Propulsion Laboratory News & Features. Posted on jpl.nasa.gov May 12, 2011, accessed May 17, 2011.
  3. Khurana, K. K. et al. Evidence of a Global Magma Ocean in Io's Interior. Science Express. Posted on sciencemag.org May 12, 2011, accessed May 17, 2011.
  4. Pearl, J. C., and W. M. Sinton. 1982. Hot Spots of Io. Satellites of Jupiter.D. Morrison, ed. Tucson, AZ: Arizona University Press, 724-755. Cited in Spencer, W. 2003. Tidal Dissipation and the Age of Io. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Creationism. R. L. Ivey, ed. Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., 585-595.
  5. Spencer, W. 2003. Tidal Dissipation and the Age of Io. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Creationism. R. L. Ivey, ed. Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., 585-595.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on May 23, 2011.

The Latest
NEWS
Marine Mammals: Designed for Deep Diving
While you’re reading this, hold your breath. What is now happening is your blood is delivering the last of oxygenated blood cells to your tissues...

CREATION PODCAST
Humanity's Demise at the Hands of Genetic Entropy | The Creation...
Welcome to the fourth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
''Inside-Out'' Fossil is Amazingly Preserved
It is widely known that vast numbers of fossils—vertebrate and invertebrate—have been discovered incredibly well-preserved.1,2...

NEWS
The Resurrection and the Origin of Life
At Easter time we focus on the cardinal Christian doctrine of the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection, Christianity is a sham. The truth that Jesus...

NEWS
Is an Ancient Extinct Tree-Dweller Our Relative?
Human evolution has always been hazy with seemingly as many attempted explanations for how we evolved from animals as there are paleoanthropologists. Evolutionists...

NEWS
The Return of the Dire Wolf?
There’s been much recent excitement about the birth of three dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) puppies by a Dallas-based biotech company: Colossal Bioscience....

CREATION PODCAST
Cracks in the Layers: Lake Suigetsu and the Old Earth Illusion...
Welcome to the third episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
Fish Fossil Vomit
A rather unsavory news story recently appeared regarding fossilized vomit. Although it’s hardly dinner table conversation, it nonetheless supports...

NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...