Enrichments in Volatiles in Jupiter: A New Interpretation of the [ITAL]Galileo[/ITAL] Measurements

Abstract

Using an evolutionary model of the solar nebula, we fit all enrichments in volatiles with respect to the solar abundance measured in Jupiter by the Galileo probe. We argue that volatiles were trapped in the form of solid clathrate hydrates in the cooling feeding zone of Jupiter while the gas mass of the nebula was continuously decreasing with time. Enrichments in Jupiter are those acquired in planetesimals at the time of the hydrodynamic collapse of the feeding zone. The O/H ratio in Jupiter is predicted to be at least 8 times solar.