The influence of variations in Jupiter's plasma environment on the Europa interaction
Joe H Westlake1, Anthony W Case2, Xianzhe Jia3, Justin Christophe Kasper4, Krishan K Khurana5, Margaret Kivelson5, Ralph L McNutt Jr6, Carol S Paty7, Abigail M Rymer8, Joachim Saur9, James A Slavin10, Howard Todd Smith11 and Michael Louis Stevens2, (1)JHUAPL, Laurel, United States, (2)Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, United States, (3)University of Michigan, Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Ann Arbor, United States, (4)University of Michigan, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Ann Arbor, United States, (5)University of California Los Angeles, Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (6)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Space Exploration Sector, Laurel, MD, United States, (7)University of Oregon, Earth Sciences, Eugene, United States, (8)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States, (9)University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, (10)University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (11)Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD, United States
Abstract:
We present a multidisciplinary study of the influence of variations in Jupiter’s corotational plasma environment on the details of the Europa interaction and the production of Europa’s sputtered atmosphere. We build upon the measurements of the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft with updated models of the Jovian plasma environment and its interaction with Europa. We specifically discuss how plasma perturbations affect the accuracy with which Europa’s induction signature can be extracted from measurements and the resulting fidelity of any quantities obtained related to ocean depth and salinity.
