Constraints on the composition of the Venus atmosphere from microwave measurements near 1.35 cm wavelength |
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| Authors: | Michael A Janssen Michael J Klein |
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| Institution: | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA |
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| Abstract: | The determination of the brightness temperature of Venus near 1.35 cm wavelength is reviewed. The observed brightness temperature is compared with models for the microwave emission based on the physical and chemical structure of the atmosphere as obtained from spacecraft. Upper limits are set on the concentrations of microwave-absorbing minor constituents. In particular, upper limits are determined for SO2 (180 ppm) and H2O (0.3%) for a mixing-ratio profile that is uniformly mixed up to the cloud bottom at 50 km and is rapidly depleted ( at higher altitudes. The total optical depth of the cloud region at or above 50 km is <0.17 at 1.35 cm wavelength. The SO2 upper limit is only in marginal agreement with the spacecraft results, and it may be that the latter have been overestimated, or that the distribution of SO2 is more complex than given by the uniform mixing model. |
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