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Sputter‐produced plasma as a measure of satellite surface composition: The CASSINI mission
Author(s) -
Johnson R. E.,
Sittler E. C.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl017i010p01629
Subject(s) - sputtering , plasma , astrobiology , saturn , spectral line , satellite , environmental science , physics , atmospheric sciences , astronomy , materials science , planet , thin film , quantum mechanics
Measurements of the co‐orbiting neutral cloud or the plasma produced by sputtering of the icy Saturnian satellites can be used to determine the relative abundance of a minority surface species which would be difficult to determine from reflectance spectra. This is due to the fact that the sputter source rates, hence the plasma supply rates, are directly proportional to the bulk concentrations of mixed solids or clathrates, although the surface grains may be depleted in the most volatile species.