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1.
While CO, HCl, and HF, that were considered in the first part of this work, have distinct absorption lines in high-resolution spectra and were detected four decades ago, the lines of HDO, OCS, and SO2 are either very weak or blended by the telluric lines and have not been observed previously by ground-based infrared spectroscopy at the Venus cloud tops. The H2O abundance above the Venus clouds is typically below the detection limit of ground-based IR spectroscopy. However, the large D/H ratio on Venus facilitates observations of HDO. Converted to H2O with D/H ≈ 200, our observations at 2722 cm−1 in the Venus afternoon show a H2O mixing ratio of ∼1.2 ppm at latitudes between ±40° increasing to ±60° by a factor of 2. The observations in the early morning reveal the H2O mixing ratio that is almost constant at 2.9 ppm within latitudes of ±75°. The measured H2O mixing ratios refer to 74 km. The observed increase in H2O is explained by the lack of photochemical production of sulfuric acid in the night time. The recent observations at the P-branch of OCS at 4094 cm−1 confirm our detection of OCS. Four distributions of OCS along the disk of Venus at various latitudes and local times have been retrieved. Both regular and irregular components are present in the variations of OCS. The observed OCS mixing ratio at 65 km varies from ∼0.3 to 9 ppb with the mean value of ∼3 ppb. The OCS scale height is retrieved from the observed limb darkening and varies from 1 to 4 km with a mean value of half the atmospheric scale height. SO2 at the cloud tops has been detected for the first time by means of ground-based infrared spectroscopy. The SO2 lines look irregular in the observed spectra at 2476 cm−1. The SO2 abundances are retrieved by fitting by synthetic spectra, and two methods have been applied to determine uncertainties and detection limits in this fitting. The retrieved mean SO2 mixing ratio of 350 ± 50 ppb at 72 km favors a significant increase in SO2 above the clouds since the period of 1980-1995 that was observed by the SOIR occultations at Venus Express. Scale heights of OCS and SO2 may be similar, and the SO2/OCS ratio is ∼500 and may be rather stable at 65-70 km under varying conditions on Venus.  相似文献   

2.
The vertical profile of H2SO4 vapor is calculated using current atmospheric and thermodynamic data. The atmospheric data include the H2O profiles observed at 70-112 km by the SOIR solar occultations, the SPICAV-UV profiles of the haze extinction at 220 nm, the VeRa temperature profiles, and a typical profile of eddy diffusion. The thermodynamic data are the saturated vapor pressures of H2O and H2SO4 and chemical potentials of these species in sulfuric acid solutions. The calculated concentration of sulfuric acid in the cloud droplets varies from 85% at 70 km to a minimum of 70% at 90 km and then gradually increasing to 90-100% at 110 km. The H2SO4 vapor mixing ratio is ∼10−12 at 70 and 110 km with a deep minimum of 3 × 10−18 at 88 km. The H2O-H2SO4 system matches the local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions up to 87 km. The column photolysis rate of H2SO4 is 1.6 × 105 cm−2 s−1 at 70 km and 23 cm−2 s−1 at 90 km. The calculated abundance of H2SO4 vapor at 90-110 km and its photolysis rate are smaller than those presented in the recent model by Zhang et al. (Zhang, X., Liang, M.C., Montmessin, F., Bertaux, J.L., Parkinson, C., Yung, Y.L. [2010]. Nat. Geosci. 3, 834-837) by factors of 106 and 109, respectively. Assumptions of 100% sulfuric acid, local thermodynamic equilibrium, too warm atmosphere, supersaturation of H2SO4 (impossible for a source of SOX), and cross sections for H2SO4·H2O (impossible above the pure H2SO4) are the main reasons of this huge difference. Significant differences and contradictions between the SPICAV-UV, SOIR, and ground-based submillimeter observations of SOX at 70-110 km are briefly discussed and some weaknesses are outlined. The possible source of high altitude SOX on Venus remains unclear and probably does not exist.  相似文献   

3.
Using the SPICAV-UV spectrometer aboard Venus Express in nadir mode, we were able to derive spectral radiance factors in the middle atmosphere of Venus in the 170-320 nm range at a spectral resolution of R ? 200 during 2006 and 2007 in the northern hemisphere. By comparison with a radiative transfer model of the upper atmosphere of Venus, we could derive column abundance above the visible cloud top for SO2 using its spectral absorption bands near 280 and 220 nm. SO2 column densities show large temporal and spatial variations on a horizontal scale of a few hundred kilometers. Typical SO2 column densities at low latitudes (up to 50°N) were found between 5 and 50 μm-atm, whereas in the northern polar region SO2 content was usually below 5 μm-atm. The observed latitudinal variations follow closely the cloud top altitude derived by SPICAV-IR and are thought to be of dynamical origin. Also, a sudden increase of SO2 column density in the whole northern hemisphere has been observed in early 2007, possibly related to a convective episode advecting some deep SO2 into the upper atmosphere.  相似文献   

4.
Mm-wave spectra of HDO in the Venus mesosphere (65-100 km) were obtained over the period March 1998 to June 2004. Each spectrum is a measurement of the hemispheric-average H2O vapor mixing ratio in the Venus mesosphere. Observations were conducted for wide ranges of Venus solar elongations (46° W to 47° E), and fractional disk illuminations (f=0% to 99%), yielding water vapor abundances on 17 dates and over a full range of local solar time (LST) at the sub-Earth point on Venus. Our mesopheric H2O values are more numerous and far more precise than the earliest mm-derived H2O measurements [Encrenaz, Th., Lellouch, E., Paubert, G., Gulkis, S., 1991. First detection of HDO in the atmosphere of Venus at radio wavelengths: An estimate of the H2O vertical distribution. Astron. Astrophys. 246, L63-L66; Encrenaz, Th., Lellouch, E., Cernicharo, J., Paubert, G., Gulkis, S., Spilker, T., 1995. The thermal profile and water abundance in the Venus mesosphere from H2O and HDO millimeter observations. Icarus 117, 162-172], allowing an analysis of variability that was previously impossible. Measured 65-100 km H2O ranged from 0.0±0.06 to 3.5±0.3 ppmv, with significantly different variability than found in previous infrared (lower altitude, cloudtop) studies. Strong global variability on a 1-2 month timescale is clear and unambiguous. A limited number of excellent s/n measurements tentatively indicate the 1-2 month variability manifests most rapidly as change in the lower mesosphere, and more slowly as change in the upper mesosphere. Neither long term (1998-2004) nor diurnal variability in 65-100 km H2O is evident. While six-year and/or diurnal variabilities are not ruled out, they are weaker than the 1-2 month timescale variation. These conclusions are supported by initial (2004) sub-mm measurements.  相似文献   

5.
Variations of the upper cloud boundary and the CO, HF, and HCl mixing ratios were observed using the CSHELL spectrograph at NASA IRTF. The observations were made in three sessions (October 2007, January 2009, and June 2009) at early morning and late afternoon on Venus in the latitude range of ±60°. CO2 lines at 2.25 μm reveal variations of the cloud aerosol density (∼25%) and scale height near 65 km. The measured reflectivity of Venus at low latitudes is 0.7 at 2.25 μm and 0.028 at 3.66 μm, and the effective CO2 column density is smaller at 3.66 μm than those at 2.25 μm by a factor of 4. This agrees with the almost conservative multiple scattering at 2.25 μm and single scattering in the almost black aerosol at 3.66 μm. The expected difference is just a factor of (1 − g)−1 = 4, where g = 0.75 is the scattering asymmetry factor for Venus’ clouds. The observed CO mixing ratio is 52 ± 4 ppm near 08:00 and 40 ± 4 ppm near 16:30 at 68 km, and the higher ratio in the morning may be caused by extension of the CO morningside bulge to the cloud tops. The observed weak limb brightening in CO indicates an increase of the CO mixing ratio with altitude. HF is constant at 3.5 ± 0.2 ppb at 68 km in both morningside and afternoon observations and in the latitude range ±60°. Therefore the observations do not favor a bulge of HF, though HF is lighter than CO. Probably a source in the upper atmosphere facilitates the bulge formation. The recent measurements of HCl near 70 km are controversial (0.1 and 0.74 ppm) and require either a strong sink or a strong source of HCl in the clouds. The HCl lines of the (2-0) band are blended by the solar and telluric lines. Therefore we observed the P8 lines of the (1-0) band at 3.44 μm. These lines are spectrally clean and result in the HCl mixing ratio of 0.40 ± 0.03 ppm at 74 km. HCl does not vary with latitude within ±60°. Our observations support a uniformly mixed HCl throughout the Venus atmosphere.  相似文献   

6.
This study presents the latest results on the mesospheric CO2 clouds in the martian atmosphere based on observations by OMEGA and HRSC onboard Mars Express. We have mapped the mesospheric CO2 clouds during nearly three martian years of OMEGA data yielding a cloud dataset of ∼60 occurrences. The global mapping shows that the equatorial clouds are mainly observed in a distinct longitudinal corridor, at seasons Ls = 0-60° and again at and after Ls = 90°. A recent observation shows that the equatorial CO2 cloud season may start as early as at Ls = 330°. Three cases of mesospheric midlatitude autumn clouds have been observed. Two cloud shadow observations enabled the mapping of the cloud optical depth (τ = 0.01-0.6 with median values of 0.13-0.2 at λ = 1 μm) and the effective radii (mainly 1-3 μm with median values of 2.0-2.3 μm) of the cloud crystals. The HRSC dataset of 28 high-altitude cloud observations shows that the observed clouds reside mainly in the altitude range ∼60-85 km and their east-west speeds range from 15 to 107 m/s. Two clouds at southern midlatitudes were observed at an altitude range of 53-62 km. The speed of one of these southern midlatitude clouds was measured, and it exhibited west-east oriented speeds between 5 and 42 m/s. The seasonal and geographical distribution as well as the observed altitudes are mostly in line with previous work. The LMD Mars Global Climate Model shows that at the cloud altitude range (65-85 km) the temperatures exhibit significant daily variability (caused by the thermal tides) with the coldest temperatures towards the end of the afternoon. The GCM predicts the coldest temperatures of this altitude range and the season Ls = 0-30° in the longitudinal corridor where most of the cloud observations have been made. However, the model does not predict supersaturation, but the GCM-predicted winds are in fair agreement with the HRSC-measured cloud speeds. The clouds exhibit variable morphologies, but mainly cirrus-type, filamented clouds are observed (nearly all HRSC observations and most of OMEGA observations). In ∼15% of OMEGA observations, clumpy, round cloud structures are observed, but very few clouds in the HRSC dataset show similar morphology. These observations of clumpy, cumuliform-type clouds raise questions on the possibility of mesospheric convection on Mars, and we discuss this hypothesis based on Convective Available Potential Energy calculations.  相似文献   

7.
Venus was observed at 2.4 and 3.7 μm with a resolving power of 4×104 using the long-slit high-resolution spectrograph CSHELL at NASA IRTF. The observations were made along a chord that covered a latitude range of ± 60° at a local time near 8:00. The continuous reflectivity and limb brightening at 2.4 μm are fitted by the clouds with a single scattering albedo 1−a=0.01 and a pure absorbing layer with τ=0.09 above the clouds. The value of 1−a agrees with the refractive index of H2SO4 (85%) and the particle radius of 1 μm. The absorbing layer is similar to that observed by the UV spectrometer at the Pioneer Venus orbiter. However, its nature is puzzling. CO2 was measured using its R32 and R34 lines. The retrieved product of the CO2 abundance and airmass is constant at 1.9 km-atm along the instrument slit in the latitude range of ± 60°. The CO mixing ratio (measured using the P21 line) is rather constant at 70 ppm, and its variations of ∼10% may be caused by atmospheric dynamics. The observed value is higher than the 50 ppm retrieved previously from a spectrum of the full disk, possibly, because of some downward extension of the mesospheric morningside bulge of CO. The observations of the HF R3 line reveal a constant HF mixing ratio of 3.5±0.5 ppb within ± 60° of latitude, which is within the scatter in the previous measurements of HF. OCS has been detected for the first time at the cloud tops by summing 17 lines of the P-branch. The previous detections of OCS refer to the lower atmosphere at 30-35 km. The retrieved OCS mixing ratio varies with a scale height of 1 to 3 km. The mean OCS mixing ratio is ∼2 ppb at 70 km and ∼14 ppb at 64 km. Vertical motions in the atmosphere may change the OCS abundance. The detected OCS should significantly affect Venus' photochemistry. A sensitive search for H2S using its line at 2688.93 cm−1 results in a 3 sigma upper limit of 23 ppb, which is more restrictive than the previous limit of 100 ppb.  相似文献   

8.
We present the first detections of the ground-state H216O (110-101) rotational transition (at 556.9 GHz) and the 13CO (5-4) rotational transition from the atmosphere of Venus, measured with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). The observed spectral features of these submillimeter transitions originate primarily from the 70-100 km altitude range, within the Venus mesosphere. Observations were obtained in December 2002, and January, March, and July 2004, coarsely sampling one Venus diurnal period as seen from Earth. The measured water vapor absorption line depth shows large variability among the four observing periods, with strong detections of the line in December 2002 and July 2004, and no detections in January and March 2004. Retrieval of atmospheric parameters was performed using a multi-transition inversion algorithm, combining simultaneous retrievals of temperature, carbon monoxide, and water profiles under imposed constraints. Analysis of the SWAS spectra resulted in measurements or upper limits for the globally averaged mesospheric water vapor abundance for each of the four observation periods, finding variability over at least two orders of magnitude. The results are consistent with both temporal and diurnal variability, but with short-term fluctuations clearly dominating. These results are fully consistent with the long-term study of mesospheric water vapor from millimeter and submillimeter observations of HDO [Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., 2005. Icarus 177, 129-143]. The December 2002 observations detected very rapid change in the mesospheric water abundance. Over five days, a deep water absorption feature consistent with a water vapor abundance of 4.5±1.5 parts per million suddenly gave way to a significantly shallower absorption, implying a decrease in the water vapor abundance by a factor of nearly 50 in less that 48 h. In 2004, similar changes in the water vapor abundance were measured between the March and July SWAS observing periods, but variability on time scales of less than a week was not detected. The mesospheric water vapor is expected to be in equilibrium with aerosol particles, primarily composed of concentrated sulfuric acid, in the upper haze layers of the Venus atmosphere. If true, moderate amplitude (10-15 K) variability in mesospheric temperature, previously noted in millimeter spectroscopy observations of Venus, can explain the rapid water vapor variability detected by SWAS.  相似文献   

9.
Rapid temporal variability of SO2 and SO in the Venus 85–100 km mesosphere (Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., Moriarty-Schieven G.H. [2007]. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 39, 503; Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., Moriarty-Schieven, G.H., Mills, F.P. [2010]. Icarus 208, 49–60) requires in situ sources and sinks for these molecules. While many loss mechanisms are recognized, no process for in situ production is known. Observational investigations to find, or constrain other potential sulfur reservoirs offer one method toward understanding the applicable photochemistry. Here, we report upper limits for gas-phase H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) abundances in Venus’ 85–100 km upper mesosphere, derived from 16 ground-based sub-mm spectroscopic observations in the period 2004–2008. Unlike the ubiquitous sulfuric acid solid/liquid aerosol, the gas phase would be photochemically active, potentially both source and sink for SO and SO2. H2SO4 is retrieved from sub-mm lines located in the same bandpass as the SO2 and SO lines described by Sandor et al. (Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., Moriarty-Schieven, G.H., Mills, F.P. [2010]. Icarus 208, 49–60). H2SO4 upper limits reported here are thus simultaneous and spatially coincident with measurements of SO2 and SO, providing for analysis of the three sulfur species collectively. The average H2SO4 abundance over 16 observations is 1 ± 2 ppb (i.e. <3 ppb). Upper limits for individual observations range from 3 to 44 ppb, where quality of the observing weather is the dominant constraint on measurement precision. The sum of H2SO4, SO2 and SO varies widely. In one comparison, the sum [H2SO4 + SO2 + SO] measured on one date differs by 10-σ from the sum measured 2 months later. We conclude that upper mesospheric sulfur atoms are not conserved among the three molecules, that H2SO4 is not a significant sulfur reservoir for balancing the observed variations of [SO2 + SO], and is not relevant to the (still unknown) photochemistry responsible for observed behavior of SO2 and SO. Having ruled out H2SO4, we infer that elemental sulfur is the most probable candidate for the needed third reservoir.  相似文献   

10.
Chemical kinetic model for the lower atmosphere of Venus   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
A self-consistent chemical kinetic model of the Venus atmosphere at 0-47 km has been calculated for the first time. The model involves 82 reactions of 26 species. Chemical processes in the atmosphere below the clouds are initiated by photochemical products from the middle atmosphere (H2SO4, CO, Sx), thermochemistry in the lowest 10 km, and photolysis of S3. The sulfur bonds in OCS and Sx are weaker than the bonds of other elements in the basic atmospheric species on Venus; therefore the chemistry is mostly sulfur-driven. Sulfur chemistry activates some H and Cl atoms and radicals, though their effect on the chemical composition is weak. The lack of kinetic data for many reactions presents a problem that has been solved using some similar reactions and thermodynamic calculations of inverse processes. Column rates of some reactions in the lower atmosphere exceed the highest rates in the middle atmosphere by two orders of magnitude. However, many reactions are balanced by the inverse processes, and their net rates are comparable to those in the middle atmosphere. The calculated profile of CO is in excellent agreement with the Pioneer Venus and Venera 12 gas chromatographic measurements and slightly above the values from the nightside spectroscopy at 2.3 μm. The OCS profile also agrees with the nightside spectroscopy which is the only source of data for this species. The abundance and vertical profile of gaseous H2SO4 are similar to those observed by the Mariner 10 and Magellan radio occultations and ground-based microwave telescopes. While the calculated mean S3 abundance agrees with the Venera 11-14 observations, a steep decrease in S3 from the surface to 20 km is not expected from the observations. The ClSO2 and SO2Cl2 mixing ratios are ∼10−11 in the lowest scale height. The existing concept of the atmospheric sulfur cycles is incompatible with the observations of the OCS profile. A scheme suggested in the current work involves the basic photochemical cycle, that transforms CO2 and SO2 into SO3, CO, and Sx, and a minor photochemical cycle which forms CO and Sx from OCS. The net effect of thermochemistry in the lowest 10 km is formation of OCS from CO and Sx. Chemistry at 30-40 km removes the downward flux of SO3 and the upward flux of OCS and increases the downward fluxes of CO and Sx. The geological cycle of sulfur remains unchanged.  相似文献   

11.
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) visible (solarband bolometer) and thermal infrared (IR) spectral limb observations from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) support quantitative profile retrievals for dust opacity and particle sizes during the 2001 global dust event on Mars. The current analysis considers the behavior of dust lifted to altitudes above 30 km during the course of this storm; in terms of dust vertical mixing, particle sizes, and global distribution. TES global maps of visible (solarband) limb brightness at 60 km altitude indicate a global-scale, seasonally evolving (over 190-240° solar longitudes, LS) longitudinal corridor of vertically extended dust loading (which may be associated with a retrograde propagating, wavenumber 1 Rossby wave). Spherical radiative transfer analysis of selected limb profiles for TES visible and thermal IR radiances provide quantitative vertical profiles of dust opacity, indicating regional conditions of altitude-increasing dust mixing ratios. Observed infrared spectral dependences and visible-to-infrared opacity ratios of dust scattering over 30-60 km altitudes indicate particle sizes characteristic of lower altitudes (cross-section weighted effective radius, ), during conditions of significant dust transport to these altitudes. Conditions of reduced dust loading at 30-60 km altitudes present smaller dust particle sizes . These observations suggest rapid meridional transport at 30-80 km altitudes, with substantial longitudinal variation, of dust lifted to these altitudes over southern hemisphere atmospheric regions characterized by extraordinary (m/s) vertical advection velocities. By LS=230° dust loading above 50 km altitudes decreased markedly at southern latitudes, with a high altitude (60-80 km) haze of fine (likely) water ice particles appearing over 10°S-40°N latitudes.  相似文献   

12.
Many of the key properties of Io’s atmosphere, such as its spatial distribution, temperature, column density and composition, are still not fully assessed despite decades of extensive observations. The contribution of the possible gas sources to the atmospheric replenishment are then still unclear.This paper presents disk-resolved observations performed with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 345 GHz of atmospheric rotational lines of the main atmospheric species SO2, and, for the first time, of the minor species SO and NaCl. All these species appear concentrated on the anti-jovian hemisphere, but do not share the same spatial distribution. The obtained maps and line-averaged fluxes are compared to realistic models simulating gas sources including volcanic plume outgassing, SO2 frost sublimation and photolysis. Arguments in favor of each sources are examined and compared to observations, putting constraints on their relative roles for each species.While sublimation clearly appears as the favored major source for SO2, SO2 photolysis may account for most of the production of SO. Using constraints on the volcanic plumes distribution from Galileo results, we find that direct volcanic input can only contribute for a minor fraction of atmospheric SO2, but represent a more significant source for SO atmosphere, and is likely to be the only source for NaCl. Temperature and column densities findings are also presented for SO2, and compare well to previously published observations and atmospheric models.  相似文献   

13.
We present measurements of the altitude and eastward velocity component of mesospheric clouds in 35 imaging sequences acquired by the Mars Odyssey (ODY) spacecraft’s Thermal Emission Imaging System visible imaging subsystem (THEMIS-VIS). We measure altitude by using the parallax drift of high-altitude features, and the velocity by exploiting the time delay in the THEMIS-VIS imaging sequence.We observe two distinct classes of mesospheric clouds: equatorial mesospheric clouds observed between 0° and 180° Ls; and northern mid-latitude clouds observed only in twilight in the 200–300° Ls period. The equatorial mesospheric clouds are quite rare in the THEMIS-VIS data set. We have detected them in only five imaging sequences, out of a total of 2048 multi-band equatorial imaging sequences. All five fall between 20° south and 0° latitude, and between 260° and 295° east longitude. The mid-latitude mesospheric clouds are apparently much more common; for these we find 30 examples out of 210 northern winter mid-latitude twilight imaging sequences. The observed mid-latitude clouds are found, with only one exception, in the Acidalia region, but this is quite likely an artifact of the pattern of THEMIS-VIS image targeting. Comparing our THEMIS-VIS images with daily global maps generated from Mars Orbiter Camera Wide Angle (MOC-WA) images, we find some evidence that some mid-latitude mesospheric cloud features correspond to cloud features commonly observed by MOC-WA. Comparing the velocity of our mesospheric clouds with a GCM, we find good agreement for the northern mid-latitude class, but also find that the GCM fails to match the strong easterly winds measured for the equatorial clouds.Applying a simple radiative transfer model to some of the equatorial mesospheric clouds, we find good model fits in two different imaging sequences. By using the observed radiance contrast between cloud and cloud-free regions at multiple visible-band wavelengths, these fits simultaneously constrain the optical depths and particles sizes of the clouds. The particle sizes are constrained primarily by the relative contrasts at the available wavelengths, and are found to be quite different in the two imaging sequences: reff = 0.1 μm and reff = 1.5 μm. The optical depths (constrained by the absolute contrasts) are substantial: 0.22 and 0.5, respectively. These optical depths imply a mass density that greatly exceeds the saturated mass density of water vapor at mesospheric temperatures, and so the aerosol particles are probably composed mainly of CO2 ice. Our simple radiative transfer model is not applicable to twilight, when the mid-latitude mesospheric clouds were observed, and so we leave the properties of these clouds as a question for further work.  相似文献   

14.
Chemical reactions and volatile supply through hypervelocity impacts may have played a key role for the origin and evolution of both planetary and satellite atmospheres. In this study, we evaluate the role of impact-induced N2 production from reduced nitrogen-bearing solids proposed to be contained in Titan’s crust, ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), for the replenishment of N2 to the atmosphere in Titan’s history. To investigate the conversion of (NH4)2SO4 into N2 by hypervelocity impacts, we measured gases released from (NH4)2SO4 that was exposed to hypervelocity impacts created by a laser gun. The sensitivity and accuracy of the measurements were enhanced by using an isotope labeling technique for the target. We obtained the efficiency of N2 production from (NH4)2SO4 as a function of peak shock pressure ranging from ∼8 to ∼45 GPa. Our results indicate that the initial and complete shock pressures for N2 degassing from (NH4)2SO4 are ∼10 and ∼25 GPa, respectively. These results suggest that cometary impacts on Titan (i.e., impact velocity vi > ∼8 km/s) produce N2 efficiently; whereas satellitesimal impacts during the accretion (i.e., vi < 4 km/s) produce N2 only inefficiently. Even when using the proposed small amount of (NH4)2SO4 content in the crust (∼4 wt.%) (Fortes, A.D. et al., 2007. Icarus 188, 139-153), the total amount of N2 provided through cometary impacts over 4.5 Ga reaches ∼2-6 times the present atmospheric N2 (i.e., ∼7 × 1020-2 × 1021 [mol]) based on the measured production efficiency and results of a hydrodynamic simulation of cometary impacts onto Titan. This implies that cometary impacts onto Titan’s crust have the potential to account for a large part of the present N2 through the atmospheric replenishment after the accretion.  相似文献   

15.
We have investigated the abundances of Titan's stratospheric oxygen compounds using 0.5 cm−1 resolution spectra from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer on the Cassini orbiter. The CO abundance was derived for several observations of far-infrared nadir spectra, taken at a range of latitudes (75° S-35° N) and emission angles (0°-60°), using rotational lines that have not been analysed before the arrival of Cassini at Saturn. The derived volume mixing ratios for the different observations are mutually consistent regardless of latitude. The weighted mean CO volume mixing ratio is 47±8 ppm if CO is assumed to be uniform with latitude. H2O could not be detected and an upper limit of 0.9 ppb was determined. CO2 abundances derived from mid-infrared nadir spectra show no significant latitudinal variations, with typical values of 16±2 ppb. Mid-infrared limb spectra at 55° S were used to constrain the vertical profile of CO2 for the first time. A vertical CO2 profile that is constant above the condensation level at a volume mixing ratio of 15 ppb reproduces the limb spectra very well below 200 km. This is consistent with the long chemical lifetime of CO2 in Titan's stratosphere. Above 200 km the CO2 volume mixing ratio is not well constrained and an increase with altitude cannot be ruled out there.  相似文献   

16.
Clouds and hazes composed of sulfuric acid are observed to exist or postulated to have once existed on each of the terrestrial planets with atmospheres in our solar system. Venus today maintains a global cover of clouds composed of a sulfuric acid/water solution that extends in altitude from roughly 50 km to roughly 80 km. Terrestrial polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form on stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosols, and both PSCs and stratospheric aerosols play a critical role in the formation of the ozone hole. Stratospheric aerosols can modify the climate when they are enhanced following volcanic eruptions, and are a current focus for geoengineering studies. Rain is made more acidic by sulfuric acid originating from sulfur dioxide generated by industry on Earth. Analysis of the sulfur content of Martian rocks has led to the hypothesis that an early Martian atmosphere, rich in SO2 and H2O, could support a sulfur-infused hydrological cycle. Here we consider the plausibility of frozen sulfuric acid in the upper clouds of Venus, which could lead to lightning generation, with implications for observations by the European Space Agency's Venus Express and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Venus Climate Orbiter (also known as Akatsuki). We also present simulations of a sulfur-rich early Martian atmosphere. We find that about 40 cm/yr of precipitation having a pH of about 2.0 could fall in an early Martian atmosphere, assuming a surface temperature of 273 K, and SO2 generation rates consistent with the formation of Tharsis. This modeled acid rain is a powerful sink for SO2, quickly removing it and preventing it from having a significant greenhouse effect.  相似文献   

17.
Nightside infrared limb spectra of the Venus upper atmosphere, obtained by Venus Express VIRTIS, show strong scattering of thermal radiation. This scattering of upward-going radiation into the line-of-sight is dominant below 82.5 km even at a wavelength of 5 μm, which is indicative of relatively large particles. We show that 1 μm-sized sulfuric acid particles (also known as mode 2 particles) provide a good fit to the VIRTIS limb data at high altitudes. We retrieve vertical profiles of the mode 2 number density between 75 and 90 km at two latitude ranges: 20-30°N and 47-50°N. Between 20 and 30°N, scattering by mode 2 particles is the main source of radiance for altitudes between 80 and 85 km. Above altitudes of 85 km smaller particles can also be used to fit the spectra. Between 47 and 50°N mode 2 number densities are generally lower than between 20 and 30°N and the profiles show more variability. This is consistent with the 47-50° latitude region being at the boundary between the low latitudes and high latitudes, with the latter showing lower cloud tops and higher ultraviolet brightness (Titov, D.V., Taylor, F.W., Svedhem, H., Ignatiev, N.I., Markiewicz, W.J., Piccioni, G., Drossart, P. [2008]. Nature 456, 620-623).  相似文献   

18.
This VIRTIS instrument on board Venus Express has collected spectrally resolved images of the Venus nightside limb that show the presence of the (0,0) band of the infrared atmospheric system of O2 at 1.27 μm. The emission is produced by three-body recombination of oxygen atoms created by photodissociation of CO2 on the dayside. It is consistently bright so that emission limb profiles can be extracted from the images. The vertical distribution of O2() may be derived following Abel inversion of the radiance limb profiles. Assuming photochemical equilibrium, it is combined with the CO2 vertical distribution to determine the atomic oxygen density. The uncertainties on the O density caused by the Abel inversion reach a few percent at the peak, increasing to about 50% near 120 km. We first analyze a case when the CO2 density was derived from a stellar occultation observed with the SPICAV spectrometer simultaneously with an image of the O2 limb airglow. In other cases, an average CO2 profile deduced from a series of ultraviolet stellar occultations is used to derive the O profile, leading to uncertainties on the O density less than 30%. It is found that the maximum O density is generally located between 94 and 115 km with a mean value of 104 km. It ranges from less than 1×1011 to about 5×1011 cm−3 with a global mean of 2.2×1011 cm−3. These values are in reasonable agreement with the VIRA midnight oxygen profile. The vertical O distribution is generally in good agreement with the oxygen profile calculated with a one-dimensional chemical-diffusive model. No statistical latitudinal dependence of the altitude of the oxygen peak is observed, but the maximum O density tends to decrease with increasing northern latitudes. The latitudinal distribution at a given time exhibits large variations in the O density profile and its vertical structure. The vertical oxygen distribution frequently shows multiple peaks possibly caused by waves or variations in the structure of turbulent transport. It is concluded that the O2 infrared night airglow is a powerful tool to map the distribution of atomic oxygen in the mesosphere between 90 and 115 km and improve future Venus reference atmosphere models.  相似文献   

19.
Long-term MGS drag density observations at 390 km reveal variations of the density with season LS (by a factor of 2) and solar activity index F10.7 (by a factor of 3 for F10.7 = 40-100). According to Forbes et al. (Forbes, J.M., Lemoine, F.G., Bruinsma, S.L., Smith, M.D., Zhang, X. [2008]. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L01201, doi:10.1029/2007GL031904), the variation with F10.7 reflects variations of the exospheric temperature from 192 to 284 K. However, the derived temperature range corresponds to variation of the density at 390 km by a factor of 8, far above the observed factor of 3. The recent thermospheric GCMs agree with the derived temperatures but do not prove their adequacy to the MGS densities at 390 km. A model used by Forbes et al. neglects effects of eddy diffusion, chemistry and escape on species densities above 138 km. We have made a 1D-model of neutral and ion composition at 80-400 km that treats selfconsistently chemistry and transport of species with F10.7, T∞, and [CO2]80 km as input parameters. Applying this model to the MGS densities at 390 km, we find variation of T∞ from 240 to 280 K for F10.7 = 40 and 100, respectively. The results are compared with other observations and models. Temperatures from some observations and the latest models disagree with the MGS densities at low and mean solar activity. Linear fits to the exospheric temperatures are T∞ = 122 + 2.17F10.7 for the observations, T∞ = 131 + 1.46F10.7 for the latest models, and T∞ = 233 + 0.54F10.7 for the MGS densities at 390 km. Maybe the observed MGS densities are overestimated near solar minimum when they are low and difficult to measure. Seasonal variations of Mars’ thermosphere corrected for the varying heliocentric distance are mostly due to the density variations in the lower and middle atmosphere and weakly affect thermospheric temperature. Nonthermal escape processes for H, D, H2, HD, and He are calculated for the solar minimum and maximum conditions.Another problem considered here refers to Mars global photochemistry in the lower and middle atmosphere. The models gave too low abundances of CO, smaller by an order of magnitude than those observed. Our current work shows that modifications in the boundary conditions proposed by Zahnle et al. (Zahnle, K., Haberle, R.M., Catling, D.C., Kasting, J.F. [2008]. J. Geophys. Res. 113, E11004, doi:10.1029/2008JE003160) are reasonable but do not help to solve the problem.  相似文献   

20.
To date, ozone has only been identified in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. This study reports the first detection of ozone in the atmosphere of Venus by the SPICAV ultraviolet instrument onboard the Venus Express spacecraft. Venusian ozone is characterized by a vertically confined and horizontally variable layer residing in the thermosphere at a mean altitude of 100 km, with local concentrations of the order of 107–108 molecules cm−3. The observed ozone concentrations are consistent with values expected for a chlorine-catalyzed destruction scheme, indicating that the key chemical reactions operating in Earth’s upper stratosphere may also operate on Venus.  相似文献   

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