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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 11: Planeten 2
EP 11.4: Vortrag
Freitag, 13. März 2015, 09:45–10:00, G.10.02 (HS 9)
Magnetohydrodynamic model of Europa's interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere: Influence of plumes in Europa's atmosphere on the plasma environment — •Aljona Blöcker1, Joachim Saur1, Lorenz Roth2, and Oliver Hartkorn1 — 1University of Cologne, Germany — 2KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
We develop a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model to study the influence of plumes in Europa's atmosphere on the interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere and plasma environment. Recently, Roth et al. (2014) discovered transient water vapor plumes near Europa's south pole. Here we provide a structured study of the influence of plumes in Europa's atmosphere on the local plasma interaction and the Alfvén wings. In our model we have included an asymmetric atmosphere of Europa, the electromagnetic induction in a subsurface water ocean, the plasma production and loss due to electron impact ionization and dissociative recombination. Our analysis suggests that the plume modifies the global plasma interaction of Europa. The strength of the modification depends on the physical properties of the plume. On the basis of the analytic model of Saur et al. (2007) we investigate if signatures of water vapor plumes are also visible in magnetic field measurements of the Galileo magnetometer. Therefore, we modify the analytic model of Saur et al. (2007) and compare the model results with the observed magnetic field data from flybys of Europa that occured during the Alfvén wing crossing.