An Aerosol Instrument Package for Characterizing the Venus Cloud Habitability Zone
UNKNOWN
Limaye, Sanjay S.↗
Engineering topics
Baines, Kevin H.
Publications and source records attributed to Baines, Kevin H..
Redetection of the Ionospheric H3(+) Signature of Saturn's "Ring Rain"
Abstract In April 2011 Saturn's midlatitude ionospheric H3(+) emissions were detected, exhibiting anomalous (nonsolar) H3(+) latitudinal variations consistent with the transport of water from specific locations in Saturn's rings, known as ''ring rain'' . These products, transported to the planet along the magnetic field, may help to explain the unusual pattern of peaks and troughs in electron densities discovered in Saturn's ionosphere by spacecraft flybys. In the present study, we analyzed H3(+) emissions recorded on 23 April 2013, showing for the first time since the original detection that Saturn's midlatitude H3(+) emissions are indeed heavily modified. Although the 2013 emissions are dimmer by almost a factor of 3.7, the latitudinal contrast is greater and uncertainties are lower. Increased H3(+) intensities were found near planetocentric latitudes of 43 deg, 51 deg, and 63 deg, previously identified with sources at the inner edge of the B ring, A ring, and the orbit of Enceladus and associated E ring.
Ionospheric↗
Chromophores from photolyzed ammonia reacting with acetylene: Application to Jupiters Great Red Spot
The high altitude of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) may enhance the upward flux of gaseous ammonia (NH3 ) into the high troposphere, where NH3 molecules can be photodissociated and initiate a chain of chemical reactions with downwelling acetylene molecules (C2H2 ). These reactions, experimentally studied earlier by (Ferris and Ishikawa [1987] Nature 326, 777-778) and (Ferris and Ishikawa [1988] J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 110, 4306-4312), produce chromophores that absorb in the visible and ultraviolet regions. In this work we photolyzed mixtures of NH3 and C2H2 using ultraviolet radiation with a wavelength of 214 nm and measured the spectral transmission of the deposited films in the visible region (400-740 nm). From these transmission data we estimated the imaginary indices of refraction. Assuming that ammonia grains at the top of the GRS clouds are coated with this material, we performed layered sphere and radiative transfer calculations to predict GRS reflection spectra. Comparison of those results with observed and previously unreported Cassini visible spectra and with true-color images of the GRS show that the unknown GRS chromophore is spectrally consistent with the coupled NH3-C2H2 photochemical products produced in our laboratory experiments. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy we infer that the chromophore-containing residue is composed of aliphatic azine, azo, and diazo compounds.
Jupiter↗
The Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets:Clues to the Origins and Early Evolution of Venus, Earth, and Mars
We review the current state of knowledge of the origin and early evolution of the three largest terrestrial planets - Venus, Earth, and Mars - setting the stage for the chapters on comparative climatological processes to follow. We summarize current models of planetary formation, as revealed by studies of solid materials from Earth and meteorites from Mars. For Venus, we emphasize the known differences and similarities in planetary bulk properties and composition with Earth and Mars, focusing on key properties indicative of planetary formation and early evolution, particularly of the atmospheres of all three planets. We review the need for future in situ measurements for improving our understanding of the origin and evolution of the atmospheres of our planetary neighbors and Earth, and suggest the accuracies required of such new in situ data. Finally, we discuss the role new measurements of Mars and Venus have in understanding the state and evolution of planets found in the habitable zones of other stars.
origin of mars↗
Strong Temporal Variation Over One Saturnian Year: From Voyager to Cassini
Here we report the combined spacecraft observations of Saturn acquired over one Saturnian year (approximately 29.5 Earth years), from the Voyager encounters (1980-81) to the new Cassini reconnaissance (2009-10). The combined observations reveal a strong temporal increase of tropic temperature (approximately 10 Kelvins) around the tropopause of Saturn (i.e., 50 mbar), which is stronger than the seasonal variability (approximately a few Kelvins). We also provide the first estimate of the zonal winds at 750 mbar, which is close to the zonal winds at 2000 mbar. The quasi-consistency of zonal winds between these two levels provides observational support to a numerical suggestion inferring that the zonal winds at pressures greater than 500 mbar do not vary significantly with depth. Furthermore, the temporal variation of zonal winds decreases its magnitude with depth, implying that the relatively deep zonal winds are stable with time.
Cassini↗
Emitted Power Of Jupiter Based On Cassini CIRS And VIMS Observations
The emitted power of Jupiter and its meridional distribution are determined from observations by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) and Visual and Infrared Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard Cassini during its flyby en route to Saturn in late 2000 and early 2001. Jupiter's global- average emitted power and effective temperature are measured to be 14.10+/-0.03 W/sq m and 125.57+/-0.07 K, respectively. On a global scale, Jupiter's 5-micron thermal emission contributes approx. 0.7+/-0.1 % to the total emitted power at the global scale, but it can reach approx. 1.9+/-0.6% at 15degN. The meridional distribution of emitted power shows a significant asymmetry between the two hemispheres with the emitted power in the northern hemisphere 3.0+/-0.3% larger than that in the southern hemisphere. Such an asymmetry shown in the Cassini epoch (2000-01) is not present during the Voyager epoch (1979). In addition, the global-average emitted power increased approx. 3.8+/-1.0% between the two epochs. The temporal variation of Jupiter's total emitted power is mainly due to the warming of atmospheric layers around the pressure level of 200 mbar. The temporal variation of emitted power was also discovered on Saturn (Li et al., 2010). Therefore, we suggest that the varying emitted power is a common phenomenon on the giant planets.
Li, Liming↗
Energy Budgets of the Giant Planets and Titan
As a fundamental property, the energy budget affects many aspeCts of planets and their moons, such as thermal structure, meteorology, and evolution. We use the observations from two Cassini spectrometers (i.e., CIRS and VIMS) to explore one important component of the energy budget the total emitted power of Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan (Li et al., 2010, 2011, 2012). Key results are: (1) The Cassini observations precisely measure the global-average emitted power of three bodies: 14.l0+/-0.03 Wm(exp -2), 4.952+/-0.035 Wm(exp -2), and 2.834+/-0.012 Wm(exp -2) for Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan, respectively. (2) The meridional distribution of emitted power displays a significant asymmetry between the northern and southern hemispheres on Jupiter and Saturn. On Titan, the meridional distribution of emitted power is basically symmetric around the equator. (3) Comparing with the Voyager measurements, the new Cassini observations reveal a significant temporal variation of emitted power on both Jupiter and Saturn: i) The asymmetry between the two hemisphere shown in the Cassini epoch (2000-2010) is not present in the Voyager epoch (1979-1980); and ii) From the Voyager epoch to the Cassini epoch, the global-average emitted power appeared to increase by approx 3.8% for Jupiter and approx 6.4% for Saturn. (4) Together with previous measurements of the absorbed solar power on Titan, the new Cassini measurements of emitted power provide the first observational evidence of the global energy balance on Titan. The uncertainty in the previous measurements of absorbed solar energy places an upper limit on its energy imbalance of 6.0% on Titan. The exploration of emitted power is the first part of a series of studies examining the temporal variability of the energy budget on the giant planets and Titan. Currently, We are measuring the absorbed solar energy in order to determine new constraints on the energy budgets of Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan.
Liming, Li↗
Exploring Venus with Balloons: Science Objectives and Recent Technical Advances
No abstract available
aerobots↗
Equatorial Winds on Saturn and the Stratospheric Oscillation
The zonal jets on the giant planets are generally thought to be stable with time. Recently, there are still some debates about the general thought. Here, we report a significant temporal variation of the equatorial jet at high-altitude on Saturn. Long-term (2004-2009) observations by Cassini reveal that wind speed at the 60-mbar level increased from 270 m/s in 2004 to 290 m/s in 2008, while the wind speed has been mostly constant over time at the 500-mbar level in the southern equatorial region. The Cassini observations further reveal that the equatorial jet intensified approximately 60 m/s in the stratosphere (1-5 mbar) from 2005 to 2008. The fact that the wind acceleration is weaker at the 60-mbar level (approximately 20 m/s) than at the 1-mbar level (approximately 60 m/s) demonstrates that the equatorial oscillation is damped when it propagates downwards to the tropopause around 60 mbar. The direct measurement of the varying equatorial jet around the tropopause also serves as a key boundary condition when deriving the thermal wind fields in the stratosphere.
Li, Liming↗
Thermal Structure and Dynamics of Saturn's Northern Springtime Disturbance
This article combined several infrared datasets to study the vertical properties of Saturn's northern springtime storm. Spectroscopic observations of Saturn's northern hemisphere at 0.5 and 2.5 / cm spectral resolution were provided by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS, 17). These were supplemented with narrow-band filtered imaging from the ESO Very Large Telescope VISIR instrument (16) to provide a global spatial context for the Cassini spectroscopy. Finally, nightside imaging from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS, 22) provided a glimpse of the undulating cloud activity in the eastern branch of the disturbance. Each of these datasets, and the methods used to reduce and analyse them, will be described in detail below. Spatial maps of atmospheric temperatures, aerosol opacity and gaseous distributions are derived from infrared spectroscopy using a suite of radiative transfer and optimal estimation retrieval tools developed at the University of Oxford, known collectively as Nemesis (23). Synthetic spectra created from a reference atmospheric model for Saturn and appropriate sources of spectroscopic line data (6, 24) are convolved with the instrument function for each dataset. Atmospheric properties are then iteratively adjusted until the measurements are accurately reproduced with physically-realistic temperatures, compositions and cloud opacities.
Fletcher, Leigh N.↗
The Global Energy Balance of Titan
We report the first measurement of the global emitted power of Titan. Longterm (2004-2010) observations conducted by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) onboard Cassini reveal that the total emitted power by Titan is (2.84 plus or minus 0.01) x 10(exp 8) watts. Together with previous measurements of the global absorbed solar power of Titan, the CIRS measurements indicate that the global energy budget of Titan is in equilibrium within measurement error. The uncertainty in the absorbed solar energy places an upper limit on the energy imbalance of 5.3%.
Li, Liming↗
Dual balloon concept for lifting payloads from the surface of Venus
Detailed calculations have been performed to design the two balloon vehicle and quantify its performance during all phases of the mission. This paper includes key results from trade studies for balloon sizing and mass, crossover altitude, and payload temperature
Stephens, Stuart K.↗
In-situ exploration of Venus on a global scale : direct measurements of origins and evolution, meterology, dynamics, and chemistry by a long-duration aerial science station
Drifting in the strong winds of Venus under benign Earth-like temperature and pressure conditions, an instrumented balloon-borne science station presents a viable means to explore, in-situ, the Venusian atmosphere on a global scale. Flying over the ground at speeds exceeding 240 km/hour while floating in the Venusian skies near 55 km altitude for several weeks, such an aerostat can conduct a 'world tour' of our neighboring planet, as it circumnavigates the globe multiple times during its flight from equatorial to polar latitudes. Onboard science sensors can repeatedly and directly sample gas compositions, atmospheric pressures and temperatures and cloud particle properties, giving unprecedented insight into the chemical processes occurring within the sulfuric clouds. Additionally, interferometric tracking via Earth-based radio observatories can yield positions and windspeeds to better than 10 cm/sec over one-hour periods, providing important information for understanding the planet's meridional circulation and enigmatic zonal super-rotation, as well as local dynamics associated with meteorological processes. As well, hundreds of GCMS spectra collected during the flight can provide measurements of noble gas compositions and their isotopes with unprecedented accuracy, thereby enabling fundamental new insights into Venus's origin and evolution.
Venus↗
The Vertical Structure of Major Meteorological Features on Jupiter: The Great Red Spot and White Ovals BC and DE
Multi-spectral imagery of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) and two White ovals acquired by the Galileo/NIMS are used to constrain the spatial variability of the vertical aerosol structure and the distribution of ammonia in and around these most-prominent anti-cyclonic features. All three features exhibit a high-altitude core spanning about 3/4 of their visual size when viewed with moderate absorption wavelengths, indicating a bulk elliptical, "wedding cake" shape in their overall three-dimensional cloud structure. A distinctive spiral pattern within the GRS core is seen in moderate methane and hydrogen absorption bandpasses. This pattern - which has been modelled to show a 2 km variation in cloudtop pressure within the GRS - is inconsistent with a different spiral-shaped pattern observed in ammonia-sensitive wavelengths, thus indicating spatial variability not only in the column abundance of ammonia within the GRS, but in its mixing ratio as well. White Ovals BC and DE were observed in February 1997, just a year before their unusual merger into a single feature. At the time of these observations, the centers of the two anti-cyclones were about 16 degrees apart, separated by a complex cyclonic feature which exhibited unusual spatial variability in its appearance in images acquired at ammonia-sensitive wavelengths. In particular, the northern half of this feature has the largest ammonia column abundance seen within the environs around the white ovals, indicating unusual variability in either cloud structure/altitude and/or ammonia humidity within the cyclone.
Baines, Kevin H.↗
Stratospheric Clouds and the Extinction of the Dinosaurs: The Role of Sulfuric Acid Particulates Generated by the Chicxulub Impact
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Atmospheric Particles↗
High-Spatial-Resolution Near-Infrared Absolute Photometric Imaging of the Uranian and
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Uranian Neptunian↗
The abundances of methane and ortho/para hydrogen on Uranus and Neptune: Implications of New Laboratory 4-0 H2 quadrupole line parameters
The tropospheric methane molar fraction (f(sub CH4, t) and the ortho/para hydrogen ratio are derived for Uranus and Neptune based on new determinations of spectroscopic parameters for key hydrogen features as reported by D. W./ Ferguson et al. (1993). For each planet, the relatively weak laboratory linestrengths (approximately 30 and 15% less than the theoretical 4-0 S(0) and S(1) linestrengths, respectively) results, when compared to analyses adopting theroetical values, in a approximately 30% decrease in the tropospheric methane ratio and a comparable increase in the pressure level of the optically thick cloudtop marking the bottom of the visible atmosphere (P(sub c/d)). The increase in the ratio of S(1)/S(0) linestrengths from 4.4 (theoretical) to approximately 5.9 (measured) results in a decrease in the range of viable ortho/para ratios; an equilibrium hydrogen distribution is now the best fit for both planets. The methane mixing ratios reported here are in agreement with the value of 0.023 derived by the Voyager Radio Occultation Experiment (G. F. Lindal, 1992) for Neptune, but slightly lower than the Voyager Uranus measurement of 0.023 reported by G. F. LIndel et al. (1987). The relative carbon-to-hydrogen abundances for Uranus and Neptune support planetary formation mechanisms involving the dissolution of carbon-bearing planetesimals in the atmospheres of both planets during their early stages of formation (e.g., J. B. Pollack et al., 1986).
Baines, Kevin H.↗
Impact winter and the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinctions: Results of a Chicxulub asteroid impact model
The Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico is the site of the impact purported to have caused mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary. 2-D hydrocode modeling of the impact, coupled with studies of the impact site geology, indiate that between 0.4 and 7.0 x 10(exp 17) g of sulfur were vaporized by the impact into anhydrite target rocks. A small portion of the sulfur was released as SO3 or SO4, which converted rapidly into H2SO4 aerosol and fell as acid rain. A radiative transfer model, coupled with a model of coagulation indicates that the aerosol prolonged the initial blackout period caused by impact dust only if the aerosol contained impurities. A larger portion of sulfur was released as SO2, which converted to aerosol slowly, due to the rate-limiting oxidation of SO2. Our radiative transfer calculations, combined with rates of acid production, coagulation, and diffusion indicate that solar transmission was reduced to 10-20% of normal for a period of 8-13 yr. This reduction produced a climate forcing (cooling) of -300 W/sq.m, which far exceeded the +8 W/sq.m greenhouse warming, caused by the CO2 released through the vaporization of carbonates, and therefore produced a decade of freezing and near-freezing temperatures. Several decades of moderate warming followed the decade of severe cooling due to the long residence time of CO2. The prolonged impact winter may have been a major cause of the K/T extinctions.
Pope, Kevin O.↗