Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.1506p&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #15.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.975
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We have modified a 3-dimensional Earth-based climate model, CAM (Community Atmosphere Model), to simulate the dynamics of Venus' atmosphere. We have removed Earth-related processes and introduced parameters appropriate for Venus. We use a simplified Newtonian cooling approximation for the radiation scheme, without seasonal or diurnal cycles or topography. We use a high resolution (1 degree in latitude and longitude) to take account of small-scale dynamical processes that might be important on Venus. Rayleigh friction is used to represent surface drag and to prevent upper boundary wave reflection. The simulations generate superrotation at cloud heights with wind velocities comparable to those found in measurements. We find a significant decadal oscillation in the zonal winds at cloud top heights and below. A vacillation cycle is seen in the cloud top mid-latitude zonal jets which wax and wane on an approximate 10 year cycle. The decadal oscillations we find may be excited by an instability near the surface, possibly a symmetric instability. Analyses of angular momentum transport show that the jets are built up by poleward transport by a meridional circulation while angular momentum is redistributed to lower latitudes primarily by transient eddies. Observations suggest that a cyclic variation similar to that found in the model might occur in the real Venus atmosphere. Observations by Mariner 10, Pioneer Venus, and Venus Express reveal variability in cloud top wind magnitudes and in the structure of Venus' cloud level mid-latitude jets with timescales of 5 to 10 years. Oscillations in CO composition and in temperature above the cloud tops also exhibit a periodicity around 10 years and changes in the atmospheric SO2 content over 40 years show a periodicity around 20 to 25 years. Venus' atmosphere must be observed over multi-year time scales and below the clouds if we are to understand its dynamics.
Covey Curtis
Grossman Allen
Lebonnois Sébastien
Parish Helen
Schubert Gerald
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