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Hydrogen peroxide is part of an important radiolytic cycle on Europa and maybe a critical source of oxidants to the putative subsurface ocean. The surfacegeographic distribution of hydrogen peroxide may constrain the processesgoverning its abundance as well as its potential relevance to the subsurfacechemistry. However, maps of Europa's hydrogen peroxide beyond hemisphericalaverages have never been published. Here, we present spatially resolved L-band(3.16 - 4 $\mu$m) observations of Europa's 3.5 $\mu$m hydrogen peroxideabsorption, which we obtained using the near-infrared spectrometer NIRSPEC andthe adaptive optics system on the Keck II telescope. Using these data, we mapthe strength of the 3.5 $\mu$m absorption across the surface at a nominalspatial resolution of $\sim$300 km. Though previous disk-integrated data seemedconsistent with the laboratory expectation that Europa's hydrogen peroxideexists primarily in its coldest and iciest regions, we find nearly the exactopposite at this finer spatial scale. Instead, we observe the largest hydrogenperoxide absorptions at low latitudes on the leading and anti-Jovianhemispheres, correlated with chaos terrain, and relative depletions toward thecold, icy high latitudes. This distribution may reflect the effects ofdecreased hydrogen peroxide destruction due to efficient electron scavenging byCO$_2$ within chaos terrain.

H$_2$O$_2$ within chaos terrain on Europa's leading hemisphere