Abstract

Laboratory measurement of the temperature dependence of gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2) microwave absorption with application to the Venus atmosphere

 

S. H. Suleiman
   
Los Angeles, California
Greenbelt, Maryland
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0250

High-accuracy laboratory measurements of the temperature dependence of the opacity from gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2) in a carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere at temperatures from 290 to 505 K and at pressures from 1 to 4 atmospheres have been conducted at frequencies of 2.25 GHz (13.3 cm), 8.5 GHz (3.5 cm), and 21.7 GHz (1.4 cm). Based on these absorptivity measurements, a Ben-Reuven (BR) line shape model has been developed that provides a more accurate characterization of the microwave absorption of gaseous SO2 in the Venus atmosphere as compared with other formalisms. The developed BR formalism is incorporated into a radiative transfer model. The resulting microwave emission spectrum of Venus is then used to set an upper limit on the disk-averaged abundance of gaseous SO2 below the main cloud layer. It is found that gaseous SO2 has an upper limit of 150 ppm, which compares well with previous spacecraft in-situ measurements and Earth-based radio astronomical observations.

For full paper: Journal of Geophysical Research , Vol. 101, NO. E2, pp 4623-3635, February 25, 1996

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