Abstract
The Solid-State Imaging (SSI) instrument provided the first high-
and medium-resolution views of Io as the Galileo spacecraft closed
in on the volcanic body in late 1999 and early 2000. While each volcanic
center has many unique features, the majority can be placed into
one of two broad categories. The "Promethean" eruptions, typified
by the volcanic center Prometheus, are characterized by long-lived
steady eruptions producing a compound flow field emplaced in an insulating
manner over a period of years to decades. In contrast, "Pillanian"
eruptions are characterized by large pyroclastic deposits and short-lived
but high effusion rate eruptions from fissures feeding open-channel
or open-sheet flows. Both types of eruptions commonly have similar
to100-km-tall, bright, SO2-rich plumes forming near the flow fronts
and smaller deposits of red material that mark the vent for the silicate
lavas.
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