Eric E. Palmer and Robert H. Brown 2007 ApJ 666 L125 doi:10.1086/521876
Eric E. Palmer1 and Robert H. Brown1
Show affiliationsWe model ballistic transport of CO2 on the surface of Iapetus, accounting for gravitational binding energy and polar cold traps. We find that if CO2 is in the form of ice, it has a long enough residence time to be spectroscopically detected. We determine that at midlatitudes, CO2 is volatile, will rapidly ablate, and be sequestered in a polar cold trap. In addition, we find that due to the inclination of Iapetus's orbit, the poles provide only a temporary cold trap, requiring the CO2 to move to the opposite pole at the end of the winter season. During each transit, 5% of the CO2 will reach escape velocity and be lost from the system. Finally, we make a prediction of the latitudinal extent and thickness of a possible CO2 polar cap that could be detected during Cassini's 2007 September flyby of Iapetus.
Issue 2 (2007 September 10)
Received 2007 March 26, accepted for publication 2007 July 25
Published 2007 August 24
Eric E. Palmer and Robert H. Brown 2007 ApJ 666 L125
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