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M.C. Wong (JPL/NRC)
The primary sources of Io's tenuous atmosphere are thought to be frost sublimation and volcanic eruption. The relative contribution from these two sources is not clear. Earlier model calculations (Wong and Johnson 1996; Wong and Smyth 2000) have shown the importance of a sublimation source. In this paper, we will discuss the relative importance of a volcanic source in Io's atmosphere. In particular, recent observations of Pele plume (Spencer et al 2000) will be used as physical constraints for our model calculations.