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Numerical models of mantle convection that include the ‘basalt barrier’ mechanism are explored for Venus. The ‘basalt barrier’ mechanism is due to the positive buoyancy of subducted basaltic crust between the mantle depths of 660 and 750km. The inclusion of this mechanism in models of Earth’s evolution has been shown to cause episodic mantle layering early in Earth history and we explore whether it...
We have developed a new general circulation model (GCM) for the venusian mesosphere and thermosphere (80-about 180km). Our GCM simulations show that winds in the subsolar-to-antisolar direction (SS–AS) are predominant above about 90km. A weak return flow of the SS–AS is seen below about 90km. We performed GCM simulations imposing the planetary-scale waves (thermal tides, Rossby wave, and Kelvin wave)...
Nightglow emissions provide insight into the global thermospheric circulation, specifically in the transition region (∼70–120km). The O 2 IR nightglow statistical map created from Venus Express (VEx) Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) observations has been used to deduce a three-dimensional atomic oxygen density map. In this study, the National Center of Atmospheric...
The dynamics of Venus’ mesosphere (60–100km altitude) was investigated using data acquired by the radio-occultation experiment VeRa on board Venus Express. VeRa provides vertical profiles of density, temperature and pressure between 40 and 90km of altitude with a vertical resolution of few hundred meters of both the Northern and Southern hemisphere. Pressure and temperature vertical profiles were...
We present the spatial distribution of air temperature on Venus’ night side, as observed by the high spectral resolution channel of VIRTIS (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer), or VIRTIS-H, on board the ESA mission Venus Express. The present work extends the investigation of the average thermal fields in the northern hemisphere of Venus, by including the VIRTIS-H data. We show results...
Venus’ impact crater population imposes two observational constraints that must be met by possible model surface histories: (1) near random spatial distribution of ∼975 craters, and (2) few obviously modified impact craters. Catastrophic resurfacing obviously meets these constraints, but equilibrium resurfacing histories require a balance between crater distribution and modification to be viable....
We calculated 2D and 3D mantle convection models for Venus using digitized atmosphere temperatures from the model of Bullock and Grinspoon (Bullock, M.A., Grinspoon, D.H. [2001]. Icarus 150, 19–37) to study the interaction between interior dynamics and atmosphere thermal evolution. The coupling between atmosphere and interior occurs through mantle degassing and the effect of varying concentrations...
Since the discovery of ultraviolet markings on Venus, their observations have been a powerful tool to study the morphology, motions and dynamical state at the cloud top level. Here we present the results of investigation of the cloud top morphology performed by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) during more than 3years of the Venus Express mission. The camera acquires images in four narrow-band filters...
We analyze night-time near-infrared (NIR) thermal emission images of the Venus surface obtained with the 1-μm channel of the Venus Monitoring Camera onboard Venus Express. Comparison with the results of the Magellan radar survey and the model NIR images of the Beta-Phoebe region show that the night-time VMC images provide reliable information on spatial variations of the NIR surface emission. In this...
Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, is cruising to approach to Venus again although its first Venus orbital insertion (VOI) has been failed. At present, we focus on the next opportunity of VOI and the following scientific observations.We have constructed an automated cloud tracking system for processing data obtained by Akatsuki in the present study. In this system, correction of the pointing...
A model for N 2 triplet states band emissions in the venusian dayglow has been developed for low and high solar activity conditions. Steady state photoelectron fluxes and volume excitation rates for N 2 triplet states have been calculated using the Analytical Yield Spectra (AYS) technique. Model calculated photoelectron flux is in good agreement with Pioneer Venus Orbiter-observed...
New measurements of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and monoxide (SO) in the atmosphere of Venus by SPICAV/SOIR instrument onboard Venus Express orbiter provide ample statistics to study the behavior of these gases above Venus’ clouds. The instrument (a set of three spectrometers) is capable to sound atmospheric structure above the clouds in several observation modes (nadir, solar and stellar occultations)...
Recent retrievals of zonal thermal winds obtained in a cyclostrophic regime on Venus are generally consistent with cloud tracking measurements at mid-latitudes, but become unphysical in polar regions where the values obtained above the clouds are often less than or close to zero. Using a global atmospheric model, we show that the main source of errors that appear in the polar regions when retrieving...
We investigate the Venus cloud top structure by joint analysis of the data from Visual and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) and the atmospheric temperature sounding by the Radio Science experiment (VeRa) onboard Venus Express. The cloud top altitude and aerosol scale height are derived by fitting VIRTIS spectra at 4–5μm with temperature profiles taken from the VeRa radio occultation...
The 1.02μm wavelength thermal emission of the nightside of Venus is strongly anti-correlated to the elevation of the surface. The VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express has mapped this emission and therefore gives evidence for the orientation of Venus between 2006 and 2008. The Magellan mission provided a global altimetry data set recorded between 1990 and 1992. Comparison of these two data sets reveals...
We present the two-dimensional distribution of the O 2 a 1 Δ–X 3 Σ (0–0) band at 1.27μm and the OH Δv=1 Meinel airglow measured simultaneously with the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board Venus Express. We show that the two emissions present very similar spatial structures. A cross-correlation analysis indicates that the highest level of correlation...
Between November 23 and 28, 2007, the Cologne Tuneable Heterodyne Infrared Spectrometer THIS was installed at the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope (Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA) to determine zonal wind velocities and to estimate the subsolar-to-antisolar flow. We investigate dynamics in the upper atmosphere of Venus by measuring the Doppler shift of fully-resolved non-LTE CO 2 emission lines at 959...
The Venus Express (VEX) mission has been in orbit to Venus for more than 4 years now. The Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) instrument onboard VEX observes Venus in two channels (visible and infrared) obtaining spectra and multi-wavelength images of the planet that can be used to sample the atmosphere at different altitudes. Day-side images in the ultraviolet range (380nm)...
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