Long-term (1979-1990) changes in the thermal, dynamical, and compositional structure of the Venus mesosphere as inferred from microwave spectral line observations of C-12O, C-13O, and CO-18
- Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA) California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (USA)
Detailed analyses of whole-disk spectra of Venus C-12O and C-13O, obtained near inferior conjunctions in 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1990, have yielded low to mid-latitude average CO mixing profiles and 85-100 km temperature profiles for the nightside Venus mesosphere. The 1985 and 1986 results indicate a 20-40 K enhancement of 85-100 km temperatures relative to Pioneer Venus measurements. The CO mixing ratio at 80-km altitude increased by several hundred percent from 1982 to 1985. It is suggested that these temperature and CO perturbations in 1985-1986 are related to such other phenomena as the 1979 decay of cloud-top SO2, within the framework of interannual variations in global-scale dynamics within and above the Venus atmosphere's cloud layers. 33 refs.
- OSTI ID:
- 5974676
- Journal Information:
- Icarus (International Journal of the Solar System); (USA), Vol. 89; ISSN 0019-1035
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
VENUS PLANET
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
CARBON 12
CARBON 13
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON MONOXIDE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
MICROWAVE SPECTRA
OXYGEN 18
SPECTRA
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
ATMOSPHERES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETS
STABLE ISOTOPES
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena