Origin and evolution of planetary atmospheres

Spacecraft and groundbased observations of the atmospheres of solar system objects have provided a definition of their present characteristics and have yielded clues about their past history. Table 1 presents a summary of our current knowledge of the atmospheric properties of all the planets, except Pluto, and several satellites. The masses of these atmospheres range from the very miniscule values for the Moon, Mercury, and Io, to the more substantial values for the Earth, Venus, Mars, and Titan, to the very large values for the giant planets, where the atmosphere constitutes a significant fraction of the total planetary mass. The compositions of these atmospheres encompass ones dominated by rare gases (the Moon and Mercury), ones containing highly oxidized compounds of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur (the outer three terrestrial planets and Io), and ones with highly reduced gases (Titan and the giant planets). What factors account for this enormous diversity in properties

Giant planets: Clues on current and past organic chemistry in the outer solar system

The giant planets of the outer solar system - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune - were formed in the same flattened disk of gas and dust, the solar nebula, as the terrestrial planets were. Yet, the giant planets differ in some very fundamental ways from the terrestrial planets. Despite enormous differences, the giant planets are relevant to exobiology in general and the origin of life on the Earth in particular. The giant planets are described as they are today. Their basic properties and the chemistry occurring in their atmospheres is discussed. Theories of their origin are explored and aspects of these theories that may have relevance to exobiology and the origin of life on Earth are stressed

Stratospheric dynamics

A global circulation model is being used to study the dynamical behavior of stratospheric planetary waves (waves having horizontal wavelengths of tens of thousands of kilometers) forced by growing cyclonic disturbances of intermediate scale, typically with wavelengths of a few thousand kilometers, which occur in the troposphere. Planetary scale waves are the dominant waves in the stratosphere, and are important for understanding the distribution of atmospheric trace constituents. Planetary wave forcing by intermediate scale tropospheric cyclonic disturbances is important for producing eastward travelling planetary waves of the sort which are prominent in the Southern Hemisphere during winter. The same global circulation model is also being used to simulate and understand the rate of dispersion and possible stratospheric climatic feedbacks of the El Chichon volcanic aerosol cloud. By comparing the results of the model calculation with an established data set now in existence for the volcanic cloud spatial and temporal distribution, stratospheric transport processes will be better understood, and the extent to which the cloud modified stratospheric wind and temperature fields can be assessed

Dust-dynamic feedbacks in the Martian atmosphere: Surface dust lifting

Numerical models have been developed to study surface dust lifting in the Martian atmosphere. The present model is comprised of interactively coupled 3-D dynamical and aerosol transport/microphysical models. The nature of possible feedbacks between surface dust lifting and the amplification/damping of near-surface wind and thermal fields and their implications for additional lifting is investigated. These studies have examined large scale Martian topography for its impact upon the ability of the atmospheric circulation to lift dust from the surface, and the particular component(s) responsible for the lifting (e.g. overturning circulation, thermal tides, baroclinic waves). Analogous experiments in which the lifted dust is radiatively inactive (passive tracer) have been conducted to act as a control against which feedbacks are defined

Theoretical calculations of pressure broadening coefficients for H2O perturbed by hydrogen or helium gas

Halfwidths were calculated for H2O with H2 as a broadening gas and were estimated for He as the broadening species. The calculations used the model of Robert and Bonamy with parabolic trajectories and all relevant terms in the interaction potential. The calculations investigated the dependence of the halfwidth on the order of the atom-atom expansion, the rotational states, and the temperature in the range 200 to 400K. Finally, calculations were performed for many transitions of interest in the 5 micrometer window region of the spectrum. The resulting data will be supplied to Dr. R. Freedman for extracting accurate water mixing ratios from the analysis of the thermal channels for the Net Flux experiment on the Galileo probe

An Analysis of Neptune's Stratospheric Haze Using High-Phase-Angle Voyager Images

We have inverted high-phase-angle Voyager images of Neptune to determine the atmospheric extinction coefficient as a function of altitude and the scattering phase function at a reference altitude. Comparisons between theoretical model and observations help separate the contributions from molecular Rayleigh and aerosol scattering and help determine the variation of the aerosol size, concentration, and scattering properties with altitude. Further comparisons between models and data allow us to place constraints on the location and composition of the hazes, the concentration and downward flux of certain condensible hydrocarbon gases, the eddy diffusion coefficient in the lower stratosphere, and the thermal profile in parts of Neptune's stratosphere. We find that a distinct stratospheric haze layer exists near 12(sub -1, sup +1) mbar in Neptune's lower stratosphere, most probably due to condensed ethane. The derived stratospheric haze production rate of 1.0(sub -0.3, sup +0.2) x 10(exp -15) g cm(exp -2) sec(exp -1) is substantially lower than photochemical model predictions. Evidence for hazes at higher altitudes also exists. Unlike the situation on Uranus, large particles (0.08-0.11 microns) may be present at high altitudes on Neptune (e.g., near 0.5 mbar), well above the region in which we expect the major hydrocarbon species to condense. Near 28 mbar, the mean particle size is about 0.13(sub -0.02, sup +0.02) microns with a concentration of 5(sub -3, sup +3) particles cm(exp -3). The cumulative haze extinction optical depth above 15 mbar in the clear filter is approx. 3 x 10(exp -3), and much of this extinction is due to scattering rather than absorption; thus, if our limb-scan sites are typical, the hazes cannot account for the stratospheric temperature inversion on Neptune and may not contribute significantly to atmospheric heating. We compare the imaging results with the results from other observations, including those of the Voyager Photopolarimeter Subsystem, and discuss differences between Neptune and Uranus

Absolute calibration and atmospheric versus mineralogic origin of absorption features in 2.0 to 2.5 micron Mars spectra obtained during 1993

We obtained new high resolution reflectance spectra of Mars during the 1993 opposition from Mauna Kea Observatory using the UKIRT CGS4 spectrometer. Fifty spectra of 1600-2000 km surface regions and a number of standard star spectra were obtained in the 2.04 to 2.44 micron wavelength region on 4 February 1993 UT. Near-simultaneous observations of bright standard stars were used to perform terrestrial atmospheric corrections and an absolute flux calibration. Using the known magnitude of the stars and assuming blackbody continuum behavior, the flux from Mars could be derived. A radiative transfer model and the HITRAN spectral line data base were used to compute atmospheric transmission spectra for Mars and the Earth in order to simulate the contributions of these atmospheres to our observed data. Also, we examined the ATMOS solar spectrum in the near-IR to try to identify absorption features in the spectrum of the Sun that could be misinterpreted as Mars features. Eleven absorption features were detected in our Mars spectra. Our data provide no conclusive identification of the mineralogy responsible for the absorption features we detected. However, examination of terrestrial spectral libraries and previous high spectral resolution mineral studies indicates that the most likely origin of these features is either CO3(sup 2-), HCO3(-), or HSO4(-) anions in framework silicates or possibly (Fe, Mg)-OH bonds in sheet silicates

Near-Infrared Spectral Geometric Albedos of Charon and Pluto: Constraints on Charon's Surface Composition

The spectral geometric albedos of Charon and Pluto are derived at near-infrared wavelengths (1.4-2.5 jAm) from measurements obtained in 1987. Comparisons of these to theoretical calculations are used to place constraints on the identity and relative abundances of surface ices on Charon. These compari- sons suggest that widespread regions of pure CH4 ice do not occur on Charon and that if CH4 is abundant on Charon then it is large grained (-5 mm) and is likely mixed at the granular level with H20 ice, and possibly C02 ice

On the relationship between secular brightness changes of Titan and solar variability

Titan’s geometric albedo varied noticeably from 1972 to 1978, in phase with variations in solar activity [Lockwood and Thompson, 1979]. We carry out a series of radiative transfer and aerosol formation calculations in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the following scenario for these secular brightness changes: solar activity changes, especially in the UV output of the Sun, result in alterations to the mass production rate of aerosols in Titan’s atmosphere, which lead to modifications of their microphysical properties. The latter, in turn, cause the albedo to vary. Current estimates of the change in the solar UV radiation below the dissociation limit of methane imply alterations to the mean radius of the aerosols over an 11-yr solar cycle that are consistent in sign and magnitude with those required to explain the observed secular brightness changes

Decadal changes in summertime reactive oxidized nitrogen and surface ozone over the Southeast United States

Widespread efforts to abate ozone (O3) smog have significantly reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the past 2 decades in the Southeast US, a place heavily influenced by both anthropogenic and biogenic emissions. How reactive nitrogen speciation responds to the reduction in NOx emissions in this region remains to be elucidated. Here we exploit aircraft measurements from ICARTT (July–August 2004), SENEX (June–July 2013), and SEAC4RS (August–September 2013) and long-term ground measurement networks alongside a global chemistry–climate model to examine decadal changes in summertime reactive oxidized nitrogen (RON) and ozone over the Southeast US. We show that our model can reproduce the mean vertical profiles of major RON species and the total (NOy) in both 2004 and 2013. Among the major RON species, nitric acid (HNO3) is dominant (∼ 42–45%), followed by NOx (31%), total peroxy nitrates (ΣPNs; 14%), and total alkyl nitrates (ΣANs; 9–12%) on a regional scale. We find that most RON species, including NOx, ΣPNs, and HNO3, decline proportionally with decreasing NOx emissions in this region, leading to a similar decline in NOy. This linear response might be in part due to the nearly constant summertime supply of biogenic VOC emissions in this region. Our model captures the observed relative change in RON and surface ozone from 2004 to 2013. Model sensitivity tests indicate that further reductions of NOxemissions will lead to a continued decline in surface ozone and less frequent high-ozone events