Claim CE230:

Jupiter's moon Io is volcanic. It is too small for its volcanism to be explained by residual heat of formation or radioactive decay, unless the moon is not millions of years old.

Source:

Pathlights, n.d. The age of the earth - 1. http://www.pathlights.com/ce_encyclopedia/05agee2.htm

Response:

  1. The volcanoes on Io are powered by tidal heating. Io is close to Jupiter, so it is strongly affected by Jupiter's gravity. The other moons of Jupiter exert their own gravitational forces. The resulting tides raise and lower Io's surface by about 100 m, generating frictional heat that drives the volcanoes.

Links:

Wood, Janet Stuhr. 2003. Io: Jupiter's volcanic moon: Tidal heating. http://www.planetaryexploration.net/jupiter/io/tidal_heating.html
Previous Claim: CE210   |   List of Claims   |   Next Claim: CE231
created 2003-6-5, modified 2004-4-4