Measurements of Minor Species Under the Clouds of Venus in the Polar Regions Using VIRTIS-H/Venus Express

Details Measurements of Minor Species Under the Clouds of Venus in the Polar Regions Using VIRTIS-H/Venus Express Measurements of Minor Species Under the Clouds of Venus in the Polar Regions Using VIRTIS-H/Venus Express

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.4004m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #40.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.468

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Due to the small obliquity of Venus, both polar regions can be observed only from orbiters such as Pioneer Venus and Venus Express, which have revealed complex dynamical features such as vortices near both poles. Thanks to the high resolution (R 1500-2000) channel of the spectral imager VIRTIS aboard Venus Express, we were able to observe some thermal radiation in the 2.3-µm window escaping from an altitude of 30 to 40 km despite the usually very thick lower cloud cover (compared to lower latitudes). Nevertheless, only 10 orbits yielded enough signal for further processing, probably biasing our measurements to those in the relatively clearer regions.
The spectral features of CO, OCS and H2O are prominent enough for these species to be measured, and show no dramatic departure from their values at lower latitudes: water mixing ratio at 35 km near 75°N is 28±5; ppmv and OCS mixing ratio at 33 km in the same region lies between 0.7 and 7 ppmv. CO measurements at 36 km tend to show a decrease beyond 60°N: 27±2.5 ppmv (70°N-80°N), 25±5; ppmv (80°N-90°N).
Such a trend is also seen from VIRTIS-M measurements, and contrasts with the increase from 23±2; ppmv near the equator to 31±2; ppmv at 60°. Thus, the respective latitudes of both CO's maximum and Hadley cell's downward velocity would coincide, a fact that strengthens the dynamical interpretation of CO's variations, being carried from its photochemical source region above the clouds to the lower troposphere. This work has been funded by the CNES space agency.

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