High-Resolution Bond Albedo Map of Europa from Photometry Extrapolation

Europa’s surface is globally highly reflective, but it shows significant spatial variations in albedo. Accurately estimating Europa’s energy balance would require mapping the surface’s Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) albedo. However, this quantity is challenging to observe and model across all viewing and illumination angles and locations on the moon. This study aims to generate a comprehensive Bond albedo map of Europa at the highest spatial resolution possible to support detailed thermal and photometric analyses essential for interpreting surface conditions.
We present a new approach to create an absolute Bond albedo map of Europa using photometric data and high-resolution imagery. The Bond albedo was retrieved on 20 Regions of Interest (ROIs) based on Voyager and New Horizons data using Hapke parameters. By correlating these values with the average pixel intensities for each ROI on the USGS map, we establish a linear relationship between Bond albedo and pixel intensity.
This linear correlation allows us to extrapolate a Bond albedo map across Europa’s surface with spatial resolution matching the USGS mosaic. The resulting map provides a valuable dataset for energy balance assessments, and supporting detailed thermal modeling of Europa’s surface for the upcoming missions. This product may also be useful for optimization of exposure time of captor.