The thermal structure of the dayside upper atmosphere of venus above 125 km |
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Authors: | DJ Hollenbach SS Prasad RC Whitten |
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Institution: | 1. Space Science Division, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA;2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 91109, USA |
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Abstract: | A one-dimensional model of the Venus thermosphere has been constructed which includes computation of the heating efficiency of solar ultraviolet radiation, heat loss by radiation to space of infrared-active species, thermal transport by molecular and eddy conduction, and viscous dissipation. By comparing model predictions with results obtained from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter space-craft, the results indicate that energy transport parameterized by eddy heat conduction plays a dominant role in determining thermospheric temperature T. It is suggested that there exists a feedback mechanism linking heating and thermospheric circulation such that eddy cooling maintains an asymptotic temperature T∞~300°K for both solar-maximum and solar-minimum conditions. We also study the variation in thermospheric temperature with solar zenith angle, atomic oxygen-mixing ratio, rate of vibrational excitation of CO2 by ground-state O atoms, and the assumed transfer of O(1D) electronic energy to CO2 vibrational energy. |
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