Exoplanet atmospheres

Abstract:

Carbon dioxide is one of the most abundant species in cometary nuclei, but due to its high volatility CO2 ice is generally only found beneath the surface. We report the infrared spectroscopic identification of a CO2 ice-rich surface area, located in the Anhur region of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Spectral modeling shows that about 0.1% of the 80×60 m area is CO2 ice. This exposed ice was observed a short time after exiting from local winter; following the increased illumination, the CO2 ice completely disappeared over about three weeks. We estimate the mass of the sublimated CO2 ice and the depth of the surface eroded layer. The presence of CO2 ice is interpreted as the result of the extreme seasonal changes induced by the rotation and orbit of the comet.

Abstract:

The impact of the cloud convective layer of the atmosphere of Venus on the global circulation remains unclear. The recent observations of gravity waves at the top of the cloud by the Venus Express mission provided some answers. These waves are not resolved at the scale of global circulation models (GCM); therefore, we developed an unprecedented 3‐D turbulence‐resolving large‐eddy simulations (LES) Venusian model using the Weather Research and Forecast terrestrial model. The forcing consists of three different heating rates: two radiative ones for solar and infrared and one associated with the adiabatic cooling/warming of the global circulation. The rates are extracted from the Laboratoire de Météorlogie Dynamique Venus GCM using two different cloud models. Thus, we are able to characterize the convection and associated gravity waves in function of latitude and local time. To assess the impact of the global circulation on the convective layer, we used rates from a 1‐D radiative‐convective model. The resolved layer, taking place between 1.0 × 105 and 3.8 × 104 Pa (48–53 km), is organized as polygonal closed cells of about 10 km wide with vertical wind of several meters per second. The convection emits gravity waves both above and below the convective layer leading to temperature perturbations of several tenths of kelvin with vertical wavelength between 1 and 3 km and horizontal wavelength from 1 to 10 km. The thickness of the convective layer and the amplitudes of waves are consistent with observations, though slightly underestimated. The global dynamics heating greatly modify the convective layer.

Abstract:

Jupiter's tropospheric composition is studied using high resolution spatially-resolved 5-mm observation from the CRIRES instrument at the Very Large Telescope. The high resolving power (R=96,000) allows us to spectrally resolve the line shapes of individual molecular species in Jupiter's troposphere and, by aligning the slit north-south along Jupiter's central meridian, we are able to search for any latitudinal variability. Despite the high spectral resolution, we find that there are significant degeneracies between the cloud structure and aerosol scattering properties that complicate the retrievals of tropospheric gaseous abundances and limit conclusions on any belt-zone variability. However, we do find evidence for variability between the equatorial regions of the planet and the polar regions. Arsine (AsH3) and phosphine (PH3) both show an enhancement at high latitudes, while the abundance of germane (GeH4) remains approximately constant. These observations contrast with the theoretical predictions from Wang et al. (2016) and we discuss the possible explanations for this difierence.

Abstract:

Terrestrial exoplanets in the canonical habitable zone may have a variety of initial water fractions due to random volatile delivery by planetesimals. If the total planetary water complement is high, the entire surface may be covered in water, forming a "waterworld." On a planet with active tectonics, competing mechanisms act to regulate the abundance of water on the surface by determining the partitioning of water between interior and surface. Here we explore how the incorporation of different mechanisms for the degassing and regassing of water changes the volatile evolution of a planet. For all of the models considered, volatile cycling reaches an approximate steady state after ~2 Gyr. Using these steady states, we find that if volatile cycling is either solely dependent on temperature or seafloor pressure, exoplanets require a high abundance (≳0.3% of total mass) of water to have fully inundated surfaces. However, if degassing is more dependent on seafloor pressure and regassing mainly dependent on mantle temperature, the degassing rate is relatively large at late times and a steady state between degassing and regassing is reached with a substantial surface water fraction. If this hybrid model is physical, super-Earths with a total water fraction similar to that of the Earth can become waterworlds. As a result, further understanding of the processes that drive volatile cycling on terrestrial planets is needed to determine the water fraction at which they are likely to become waterworlds.