Planetary atmosphere observation analysis

Abstract:

Aims: The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) was sent to Mars in March 2016 to search for trace gases diagnostic of active geological or biogenic processes.

Methods: We report the first observation of the spectral features of Martian ozone (O3) in the mid-infrared range using the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) Mid-InfaRed (MIR) channel, a cross-dispersion spectrometer operating in solar occultation mode with the finest spectral resolution of any remote sensing mission to Mars.

Results: Observations of ozone were made at high northern latitudes (> 65◦N) prior to the onset of the 2018 global dust storm (Ls = 163–193◦). During this fast transition phase between summer and winter ozone distribution, the O3 volume mixing ratio observed is 100–200 ppbv near 20 km. These amounts are consistent with past observations made at the edge of the southern polar vortex in the ultraviolet range. The observed spectral signature of ozone at 3000–3060 cm−1 directly overlaps with the spectral range of the methane (CH4) ν3 vibration-rotation band, and it, along with a newly discovered CO2 band in the same region, may interfere with measurements of methane abundance.

Abstract:

We present a comparison of VLT-VISIR images and Keck-NIRC2 images of Neptune, which highlight the coupling between its troposphere and stratosphere. VLT-VISIR images were obtained on September 16th 2008 (UT) at 7.90 μm and 12.27 μm, which are primarily sensitive to 1-mbar CH4 and C2H6 emission, respectively. NIRC2 images in the H band were obtained on October 5th, 6th and 9th 2008 (UT) and sense clouds and haze in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (from approximately 600 to 20 mbar). At 7.90 μm, we observe enhancements of CH4 emission in latitude bands centered at approximately 25∘S and 48∘S (planetocentric). Within these zonal bands, tentative detections (<2σ) of discrete hotspots of CH4 emission are also evident at 24∘S, 181∘W and 42∘S, 170∘W. The longitudinal-mean enhancements in the CH4 emission are also latitudinally-coincident with bands of bright (presumably CH4 ice) clouds in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere evidenced in the H-band images. This suggests the Neptunian troposphere and stratosphere are coupled in these specific regions. This could be in the form of (1) ‘overshoot’ of strong, upwelling plumes and advection of CH4 ice into the lower stratosphere, which subsequently sublimates into CH4 gas and/or (2) generation of waves by plumes impinging from the tropopause below, which impart their energy and heat the lower stratosphere. We favor the former process since there is no evidence of similar smaller-scale morphology in the C2H6 emission, which probes a similar atmospheric level. However, we cannot exclude temperature variations as the source of the morphology observed in CH4 emission. Future, near-infrared imaging of Neptune performed near-simultaneously with future mid-infrared spectral observations of Neptune by the James Webb Space Telescope would allow the coupling of Neptune's troposphere and stratosphere to be confirmed and studied in greater detail.

Abstract:

© 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. At wavelengths between 0.15 and 0.19 μm, the far-ultraviolet spectrum of Jupiter is dominated by the scattered solar spectrum, attenuated by molecular absorptions primarily by acetylene and ethane, and to a lesser extent ammonia and phosphine. We describe the development of our radiative transfer code that enables the retrieval of abundances of these molecular species from ultraviolet reflectance spectra. As a proof-of-concept we present an analysis of Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observations of the disk of Jupiter during the 2000/2001 flyby. The ultraviolet-retrieved acetylene abundances in the upper stratosphere are lower than those predicted by models based solely on infrared thermal emission from the mid-stratosphere observed by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), requiring an adjustment to the vertical profiles above 1 mbar. We produce a vertical acetylene abundance profile that is compatible with both CIRS and UVIS, with reduced abundances at pressures <1 mbar: the 0.1 mbar abundances are 1.21 ± 0.07 ppm for acetylene and 20.8 ± 5.1 ppm for ethane. Finally, we perform a sensitivity study for the JUICE ultraviolet spectrograph, which has extended wavelength coverage out to 0.21 μm, enabling the retrieval of ammonia and phosphine abundances, in addition to acetylene and ethane.