Other
Scientific paper
Oct 1984
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984nascp2330...89o&link_type=abstract
In its Uranus and Neptune p 89-156 (SEE N85-11927 02-91)
Other
3
Neptune (Planet), Planetary Atmospheres, Temperature Distribution, Uranus (Planet), Atmospheric Composition, Clouds (Meteorology), Infrared Spectra, Radiative Heat Transfer, Remote Sensing, Thermal Emission
Scientific paper
Temperature structures of Uranus and Neptune are currently derivable from a combination of stellar occultation and thermal radiance observations. The globally-averaged temperatures of Uranus and Neptune appear quite similar in their convective regions, reaching temperatures near 75K at 1 bar and 150K near 10 bar. Temperature minima near 200 mbar are also similar, near 53 - 55K. The temperature in the stratosphere of Neptune rises much more steeply with altitude than for Uranus in the range of 0.1 to 100 mbar. Above this level, near 1 μbar, both atmospheres reach temperatures of 120 - 160K. The bolometric radiant energy output is equivalent to the output of a blackbody at 58.3±2.0K for Uranus and 60.3±2.0 for Neptune. These values imply approximate equilibrium with absorbed sunlight for Uranus but an internal energy source 1.9 to 2.6 times the absorbed sunlight for Neptune. The implication of the thermal spectra is that while the bulk composition may be consistent with a solar mixture of H2 and He, the mixing ratio of CH4 is probably about 2% in the deep atmospheres of both planets. Observations near 10 μm are also consistent with clouds at the CH4 condensation level in Uranus. Stratospheric clouds (of CH4 and other hydrocarbons) are implied for Neptune, with CH4 transported (convectively) through the cold trap. Such vigorous convection is consistent with the variability of the stratospheric cloud reflectivity, the large internal heat source, and the strongly inhomogeneous visual appearance of the planet.
Appleby John F.
Orton Glenn S.
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