Magma ascent pathways associated with large mountains on Io

Abstract

While Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, the largest mountains seen on Io are created by tectonic forces rather than volcanic construction. Pervasive compression, primarily brought about by subsidence induced by sustained volcanic resurfacing, creates the mountains, but at the same time inhibits magma ascent in vertical conduits (dikes). We superpose stress solutions for subsidence, along with thermal stress, (both from the “crustal conveyor belt” process of resurfacing) in Io's lithosphere with stresses from Io mountain-sized loads (in a shallow spherical shell solution) in order to evaluate magma ascent pathways. We use stress orientation (least compressive stress horizontal) and stress gradient (compression decreasing upwards) criteria to identify ascent pathways through the lithosphere. There are several configurations for which viable ascent paths transit nearly the entire lithosphere, arriving at the base of the mountain, where magma can be transported through thrust faults or perhaps thermally eroded flank sections. The latter is consistent with observations of some Io paterae in close contact with mountains.