P. Scarica, I. Garate-Lopez, S. Lebonnois, G. Piccioni, D. Grassi, A. Migliorini, and S. Tellmann. Validation of the IPSL Venus GCM Thermal Structure with Venus Express Data. Atmosphere, 10(10):584, September 2019. [ bib | DOI | PDF version | ADS link ]
General circulation models (GCMs) are valuable instruments to understand the most peculiar features in the atmospheres of planets and the mechanisms behind their dynamics. Venus makes no exception and it has been extensively studied thanks to GCMs. Here we validate the current version of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) Venus GCM, by means of a comparison between the modelled temperature field and that obtained from data by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) and the Venus Express Radio Science Experiment (VeRa) onboard Venus Express. The modelled thermal structure displays an overall good agreement with data, and the cold collar is successfully reproduced at latitudes higher than +/−55°, with an extent and a behavior close to the observed ones. Thermal tides developing in the model appear to be consistent in phase and amplitude with data: diurnal tide dominates at altitudes above 102 Pa pressure level and at high-latitudes, while semidiurnal tide dominates between 102 and 104 Pa, from low to mid-latitudes. The main difference revealed by our analysis is located poleward of 50°, where the model is affected by a second temperature inversion arising at 103 Pa. This second inversion, possibly related to the adopted aerosols distribution, is not observed in data.
N. Sugimoto, M. Abe, Y. Kikuchi, A. Hosono, H. Ando, M. Takagi, I. Garate Lopez, S. Lebonnois, and C. Ao. Observing system simulation experiment for radio occultation measurements of the Venus atmosphere among small satellites. Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Ser. A2 (Applied Mechanics (AM)), 75(2):I_477-I_486, January 2019. [ bib | DOI | PDF version | ADS link ]
We have developed the Venus AFES (atmospheric GCM (general circulation model) for the Earth Simulator) LETKF (local ensemble transform Kalman filter) data assimilation system (VALEDAS) to make full use of observations. In this study, radio occultation measurements among small satellites are evaluated by the observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) of VALEDAS. Idealized observations are prepared by a French Venus Atmospheric GCM in which the cold collar is realistically reproduced. Reproducibility of the cold collar in VALEDAS is tested by several types of observations. The results show that the cold collar is successfully reproduced by assimilating at least 2 or 3 vertical temperature profiles in the polar region every 4 or 6 hours. Therefore, the radio occultation measurements among three satellites in polar orbits would be promising to improve the polar atmospheric structures at about 40–90 km altitudes.
J. M. Lora, T. Tokano, J. Vatant d'Ollone, S. Lebonnois, and R. D. Lorenz. A model intercomparison of Titan's climate and low-latitude environment. Icarus, 333:113-126, 2019. [ bib | DOI | PDF version | ADS link ]
Cassini-Huygens provided a wealth of data with which to constrain numerical models of Titan. Such models have been employed over the last decade to investigate various aspects of Titan's atmosphere and climate, and several three-dimensional general circulation models (GCMs) now exist that simulate Titan with a high degree of fidelity. However, substantial uncertainties persist, and at the same time no dedicated intercomparisons have assessed the degree to which these models agree with each other or the observations. To address this gap, and motivated by the proposed Dragonfly Titan lander mission, we directly compare three Titan GCMs to each other and to in situ observations, and also provide multi-model expectations for the low-latitude environment during the early northern winter season. Globally, the models qualitatively agree in their representation of the atmospheric structure and circulation, though one model severely underestimates meridional temperature gradients and zonal winds. We find that, at low latitudes, simulated and observed atmospheric temperatures closely agree in all cases, while the measured winds above the boundary layer are only quantitatively matched by one model. Nevertheless, the models simulate similar near-surface winds, and all indicate these are weak. Likewise, temperatures and methane content at low latitudes are similar between models, with some differences that are largely attributable to modeling assumptions. All models predict environments that closely resemble that encountered by the Huygens probe, including little or no precipitation at low latitudes during northern winter. The most significant differences concern the methane cycle, though the models are least comparable in this area and substantial uncertainties remain. We suggest that, while the overall low-latitude environment on Titan at this season is now fairly well constrained, future in situ measurements and monitoring will transform our understanding of regional and temporal variability, atmosphere-surface coupling, Titan's methane cycle, and modeling thereof.
Y. J. Lee, K.-L. Jessup, S. Perez-Hoyos, D. V. Titov, S. Lebonnois, J. Peralta, T. Horinouchi, T. Imamura, S. Limaye, E. Marcq, M. Takagi, A. Yamazaki, M. Yamada, S. Watanabe, S.-y. Murakami, K. Ogohara, W. M. McClintock, G. Holsclaw, and A. Roman. Long-term Variations of Venuss 365 nm Albedo Observed by Venus Express, Akatsuki, MESSENGER, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomical Journal, 158:126, 2019. [ bib | DOI | arXiv | PDF version | ADS link ]
An unknown absorber near the cloud-top level of Venus generates a broad absorption feature from the ultraviolet (UV) to visible, peaking around 360 nm, and therefore plays a critical role in the solar energy absorption. We present a quantitative study of the variability of the cloud albedo at 365 nm and its impact on Venuss solar heating rates based on an analysis of Venus Express and Akatsuki UV images and Hubble Space Telescope and MESSENGER UV spectral data; in this analysis, the calibration correction factor of the UV images of Venus Express (Venus Monitoring Camera) is updated relative to the Hubble and MESSENGER albedo measurements. Our results indicate that the 365 nm albedo varied by a factor of 2 from 2006 to 2017 over the entire planet, producing a 25%40% change in the low-latitude solar heating rate according to our radiative transfer calculations. Thus, the cloud-top level atmosphere should have experienced considerable solar heating variations over this period. Our global circulation model calculations show that this variable solar heating rate may explain the observed variations of zonal wind from 2006 to 2017. Overlaps in the timescale of the long-term UV albedo and the solar activity variations make it plausible that solar extreme UV intensity and cosmic-ray variations influenced the observed albedo trends. The albedo variations might also be linked with temporal variations of the upper cloud SO2 gas abundance, which affects the H2SO4H2O aerosol formation.
D. Cordier, D. A. Bonhommeau, S. Port, V. Chevrier, S. Lebonnois, and F. García-Sánchez. The Physical Origin of the Venus Low Atmosphere Chemical Gradient. Astrophysical Journal, 880:82, 2019. [ bib | DOI | arXiv | PDF version | ADS link ]
Venus shares many similarities with the Earth, but concomitantly, some of its features are extremely original. This is especially true for its atmosphere, where high pressures and temperatures are found at the ground level. In these conditions, carbon dioxide, the main component of Venus atmosphere, is a supercritical fluid. The analysis of VeGa-2 probe data has revealed the high instability of the region located in the last few kilometers above the ground level. Recent works have suggested an explanation based on the existence of a vertical gradient of molecular nitrogen abundances, around 5 ppm per meter. Our goal was then to identify which physical processes could lead to the establishment of this intriguing nitrogen gradient, in the deep atmosphere of Venus. Using an appropriate equation of state for the binary mixture CO2N2 under supercritical conditions, and also molecular dynamics simulations, we have investigated the separation processes of N2 and CO2 in the Venusian context. Our results show that molecular diffusion is strongly inefficient, and potential phase separation is an unlikely mechanism. We have compared the quantity of CO2 required to form the proposed gradient with what could be released by a diffuse degassing from a low volcanic activity. The needed fluxes of CO2 are not so different from what can be measured over some terrestrial volcanic systems, suggesting a similar effect at work on Venus.
T. Encrenaz, T. K. Greathouse, E. Marcq, H. Sagawa, T. Widemann, B. Bézard, T. Fouchet, F. Lefèvre, S. Lebonnois, S. K. Atreya, Y. J. Lee, R. Giles, and S. Watanabe. HDO and SO2 thermal mapping on Venus. IV. Statistical analysis of the SO2 plumes. Astronomy Astrophysics, 623:A70, 2019. [ bib | DOI | PDF version | ADS link ]
Since January 2012 we have been monitoring the behavior of sulfur dioxide and water on Venus, using the Texas Echelon Cross-Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) imaging spectrometer at the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF, Mauna Kea Observatory). We present here the observations obtained between January 2016 and September 2018. As in the case of our previous runs, data were recorded around 1345 cm-1 (7.4 μm). The molecules SO2, CO2, and HDO (used as a proxy for H2O) were observed, and the cloudtop of Venus was probed at an altitude of about 64 km. The volume mixing ratio of SO2 was estimated using the SO2/CO2 line depth ratios of weak transitions; the H2O volume mixing ratio was derived from the HDO/CO2 line depth ratio, assuming a D/H ratio of 200 times the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW). As reported in our previous analyses, the SO2 mixing ratio shows strong variations with time and also over the disk, showing evidence of the formation of SO2 plumes with a lifetime of a few hours; in contrast, the H2O abundance is remarkably uniform over the disk and shows moderate variations as a function of time. We performed a statistical analysis of the behavior of the SO2 plumes, using all TEXES data between 2012 and 2018. They appear mostly located around the equator. Their distribution as a function of local time seems to show a depletion around noon; we do not have enough data to confirm this feature definitely. The distribution of SO2 plumes as a function of longitude shows no clear feature, apart from a possible depletion around 100E-150E and around 300E-360E. There seems to be a tendency for the H2O volume mixing ratio to decrease after 2016, and for the SO2 mixing ratio to increase after 2014. However, we see no clear anti-correlation between the SO2 and H2O abundances at the cloudtop, neither on the individual maps nor over the long term. Finally, there is a good agreement between the TEXES results and those obtained in the UV range (SPICAV/Venus Express and UVI/Akatsuki) at a slightly higher altitude. This agreement shows that SO2 observations obtained in the thermal infrared can be used to extend the local time coverage of the SO2 measurements obtained in the UV range.