Constraints on Io’s interior by combining small- and large-scale characteristics of the volcanic pattern

Intensive tidal heating makes the Galilean satellite Io to an outstanding example of a volcanically active world. Most of the heat generated in the interior is lost through a large number of active volcanoes. The distribution of Io's volcanoes on the surface could help us to constrain properties below Io’s crust, regulating the heat transport mechanism. For this study, we assume that (1) the presence of global volcanism is linked to the presence of melt in the upper mantle; that (2) the large-scale variation in volcanic density is inherited from non-uniform tidal heating and smoothed by vigorous convection; and that (3) the total number of hot-spots is controlled by the spatial frequency of thermal instabilities in the convecting layer. Three unknown parameters are explored: the fraction of convective heat transport compared to magmatic heat transport, the mantle viscosity, and the thickness of the heated layer. In order to evaluate which combinations of interior properties can explain Io's present volcanic distribution, we develop a model based on parameterised heat flow scalings to approximate different spatial characteristics of Io's interior convection pattern. Our model combines internal heating, and convective and magmatic heat flow. Parts of the parameter space that are not in agreement with the observation-derived conditions are ruled out.

Our results show that the observed small- and large-scale characteristics of Io's volcanic pattern can be explained by sub-lithospheric anomalies caused by convection. Solutions that allow for active volcanism and Io's specific large-scale variations in volcanic activity range from a thick mantle of high viscosity (10¹⁷ Pa s) to a thin asthenosphere of low viscosity (10¹² Pa s). If Io's volcanos are correlated to the spatial frequency of thermal instabilities, the range of Io's total volcanic features between 250 and 3030 can further constrain the parameter space. This favours a mantle with a low melt fraction, a low mantle viscosity, and a magmatic heat transport of >80%.