Biospheric traumas caused by large impacts and predicted relics in the sedimentary record

When a large asteroid or comet impacts the Earth the supersonic plume ejected on impact causes severe shock heating and chemical reprocessing of the proximal atmosphere. The resultant NO is converted rapidly to NO2, foliage damage due to exposure to NO2 and HNO3, toxicosis resulting from massive mobilization of soil trace metals, and faunal asphyxiation due to exposure to NO2. One class of relic evidence for the above effects arises because extinction of species caused by these chemically induced traumas would be selective. A second class of relic evidence arises because the acid rain will cause massive weathering of continental rocks and soils characterized by large ratios of the relatively insoluble metals, to the more soluble metals. This weathering would be best recorded in fossils in unperturbed deltaic, neritic, or limnetic sediments and for metals with very long oceanic residence times in deep ocean sediments as well. This evidence is discussed

Venus volcanism: Rate estimates from laboratory studies of sulfur gas-solid reactions

Thermochemical reactions between sulfur-bearing gases in the atmosphere of Venus and calcium-, iron-, magnesium-, and sulfur-bearing minerals on the surface of Venus are an integral part of a hypothesized cycle of thermochemical and photochemical reactions responsible for the maintenance of the global sulfuric acid cloud cover on Venus. SO2 is continually removed from the Venus atmosphere by reaction with calcium bearing minerals on the planet's surface. The rate of volcanism required to balance SO2 depletion by reactions with calcium bearing minerals on the Venus surface can therefore be deduced from a knowledge of the relevant gas-solid reaction rates combined with reasonable assumptions about the sulfur content of the erupted material (gas + magma). A laboratory program was carried out to measure the rates of reaction between SO2 and possible crustal minerals on Venus. The reaction of CaCO3(calcite) + SO2 yields CaSO4 (anhydrite) + CO was studied. Brief results are given

Three-dimensional dynamical and chemical modelling of the upper atmosphere

Progress in coding a 3-D upper atmospheric model and in modeling the ozone perturbation resulting from the shuttle booster exhaust is reported. A time-dependent version of a 2-D model was studied and the sulfur cycle in the stratosphere was investigated. The role of meteorology in influencing stratospheric composition measurements was also studied

Parametric sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of dimethylsulfide oxidation in the remote marine boundary layer

International audienceA study of the current significant uncertainties in dimethylsulfide (DMS) gas-phase chemistry provides insight into additional research needed to decrease these uncertainties. The DMS oxidation cycle in the remote marine boundary layer is simulated using a diurnally-varying box model with 56 uncertain chemical and physical parameters. Two analytical methods (direct integration and probabilistic collocation) are used to determine the most influential parameters (sensitivity analysis) and sources of uncertainty (uncertainty analysis) affecting the concentrations of DMS, SO2, methanesulfonic acid (MSA), and H2SO4. The key parameters identified by the sensitivity analysis are associated with DMS emissions, mixing in to and out of the boundary layer, heterogeneous removal of soluble sulfur-containing compounds, and the DMS+OH addition and abstraction reactions. MSA and H2SO4 are also sensitive to the rate constants of numerous other reactions, which limits the effectiveness of mechanism reduction techniques. Propagating the parameter uncertainties through the model leads to concentrations that are uncertain by factors of 1.8 to 3.0. The main sources of uncertainty are from DMS emissions and heterogeneous scavenging. Uncertain chemical rate constants, however, collectively account for up to 50?60% of the net uncertainties in MSA and H2SO4. The concentration uncertainties are also calculated at different temperatures, where they vary mainly due to temperature-dependent chemistry. With changing temperature, the uncertainties of DMS and SO2 remain steady, while the uncertainties of MSA and H2SO4 vary by factors of 2 to 4

Report of the Terrestrial Bodies Science Working Group. Volume 3: Venus

The science objectives of Pioneer Venus and future investigations of the planet are discussed. Concepts and payloads for proposed missions and the supporting research and technology required to obtain the desired measurements from space and Earth-based observations are examined, as well as mission priorities and schedules

Recent and future trends in synthetic greenhouse gas radiative forcing

Atmospheric measurements show that emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons are now the primary drivers of the positive growth in synthetic greenhouse gas (SGHG) radiative forcing. We infer recent SGHG emissions and examine the impact of future emissions scenarios, with a particular focus on proposals to reduce HFC use under the Montreal Protocol. If these proposals are implemented, overall SGHG radiative forcing could peak at around 355 mW m[superscript −2] in 2020, before declining by approximately 26% by 2050, despite continued growth of fully fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to “no HFC policy” projections, this amounts to a reduction in radiative forcing of between 50 and 240 mW m[superscript −2] by 2050 or a cumulative emissions saving equivalent to 0.5 to 2.8 years of CO2 emissions at current levels. However, more complete reporting of global HFC emissions is required, as less than half of global emissions are currently accounted for.Natural Environment Research Council (Great Britain) (Advanced Research Fellowship NE/I021365/1)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Upper Atmospheric Research Program Grant NNX11AF17G)United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administratio

International cooperation for Mars exploration and sample return

The National Research Council's Space Studies Board has previously recommended that the next major phase of Mars exploration for the United States involve detailed in situ investigations of the surface of Mars and the return to earth for laboratory analysis of selected Martian surface samples. More recently, the European space science community has expressed general interest in the concept of cooperative Mars exploration and sample return. The USSR has now announced plans for a program of Mars exploration incorporating international cooperation. If the opportunity becomes available to participate in Mars exploration, interest is likely to emerge on the part of a number of other countries, such as Japan and Canada. The Space Studies Board's Committee on Cooperative Mars Exploration and Sample Return was asked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to examine and report on the question of how Mars sample return missions might best be structured for effective implementation by NASA along with international partners. The committee examined alternatives ranging from scientific missions in which the United States would take a substantial lead, with international participation playing only an ancillary role, to missions in which international cooperation would be a basic part of the approach, with the international partners taking on comparably large mission responsibilities. On the basis of scientific strategies developed earlier by the Space Studies Board, the committee considered the scientific and technical basis of such collaboration and the most mutually beneficial arrangements for constructing successful cooperative missions, particularly with the USSR

Ecosystem fluxes of hydrogen: a comparison of flux-gradient methods

Our understanding of biosphere–atmosphere exchange has been considerably enhanced by eddy covariance measurements. However, there remain many trace gases, such as molecular hydrogen (H[subscript 2]), that lack suitable analytical methods to measure their fluxes by eddy covariance. In such cases, flux-gradient methods can be used to calculate ecosystem-scale fluxes from vertical concentration gradients. The budget of atmospheric H[subscript 2] is poorly constrained by the limited available observations, and thus the ability to quantify and characterize the sources and sinks of H[subscript 2] by flux-gradient methods in various ecosystems is important. We developed an approach to make nonintrusive, automated measurements of ecosystem-scale H2 fluxes both above and below the forest canopy at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, for over a year. We used three flux-gradient methods to calculate the fluxes: two similarity methods that do not rely on a micrometeorological determination of the eddy diffusivity, K, based on (1) trace gases or (2) sensible heat, and one flux-gradient method that (3) parameterizes K. We quantitatively assessed the flux-gradient methods using CO[subscript 2] and H[subscript 2]O by comparison to their simultaneous independent flux measurements via eddy covariance and soil chambers. All three flux-gradient methods performed well in certain locations, seasons, and times of day, and the best methods were trace gas similarity for above the canopy and K parameterization below it. Sensible heat similarity required several independent measurements, and the results were more variable, in part because those data were only available in the winter, when heat fluxes and temperature gradients were small and difficult to measure. Biases were often observed between flux-gradient methods and the independent flux measurements, and there was at least a 26% difference in nocturnal eddy-derived net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and chamber measurements. H[subscript 2] fluxes calculated in a summer period agreed within their uncertainty and pointed to soil uptake as the main driver of H[subscript 2] exchange at Harvard Forest, with H[subscript 2] deposition velocities ranging from 0.04 to 0.10 cm s[superscript −1].National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Graduate Research Fellowship)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE))Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global ChangeMartin Family Society of Fellows for SustainabilityMassachusetts Institute of Technology (Ally of Nature Research Fund)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (William Otis Crosby Lectureship)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Warren Klein Fund

Precipitating Condensation Clouds in Substellar Atmospheres

We present a method to calculate vertical profiles of particle size distributions in condensation clouds of giant planets and brown dwarfs. The method assumes a balance between turbulent diffusion and sedimentation in horizontally uniform cloud decks. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are compared with results from previous methods. An adjustable parameter describing the efficiency of sedimentation allows the new model to span the range of predictions made by previous models. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are consistent with observations. Example calculations are provided for water, silicate, and iron clouds on brown dwarfs and on a cool extrasolar giant planet. We find that precipitating cloud decks naturally account for the characteristic trends seen in the spectra and colors of L- and T-type ultracool dwarfs.Comment: 33 pages including 7 figures; AASTex; Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal, tentatively scheduled for v556 n1 July 20, 2001 . Plotting error in Fig 5 corrected; slight modification to Fig 5 dicussion in tex

Characterization of uncertainties in atmospheric trace gas inversions using hierarchical Bayesian methods

We present a hierarchical Bayesian method for atmospheric trace gas inversions. This method is used to estimate emissions of trace gases as well as "hyper-parameters" that characterize the probability density functions (PDFs) of the a priori emissions and model-measurement covariances. By exploring the space of "uncertainties in uncertainties", we show that the hierarchical method results in a more complete estimation of emissions and their uncertainties than traditional Bayesian inversions, which rely heavily on expert judgment. We present an analysis that shows the effect of including hyper-parameters, which are themselves informed by the data, and show that this method can serve to reduce the effect of errors in assumptions made about the a priori emissions and model-measurement uncertainties. We then apply this method to the estimation of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions over 2012 for the regions surrounding four Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) stations. We find that improper accounting of model representation uncertainties, in particular, can lead to the derivation of emissions and associated uncertainties that are unrealistic and show that those derived using the hierarchical method are likely to be more representative of the true uncertainties in the system. We demonstrate through this SF6 case study that this method is less sensitive to outliers in the data and to subjective assumptions about a priori emissions and model-measurement uncertainties than traditional methods