Is OSSO a Significant Contributor to the Unknown UV Absorber in Venus' Atmosphere?
Abstract It has been proposed that two isomers of the SO dimer ( cis ‐ and trans ‐OSSO) are candidates for the unknown UV absorber in Venus' atmosphere because they have a good spectral match with the absorber, despite the low concentrations predicted by 1D photochemical models. Here OSSO chemistry (production from SO and loss by photolysis, thermal decomposition, and reaction with O and Cl) has been included in the photochemistry scheme of a 3D planetary climate model (PCM‐Venus) along with sulfur injection due to meteoric ablation. 1D multiple scattering radiative transfer modeling is then used to predict the resulting top‐of‐the‐atmosphere reflectance produced by OSSO. The modeled OSSO concentrations are shown to be ∼3 orders of magnitude too low to explain the observed absorbance levels, and the predicted ratio of the OSSO isomers provides an unsatisfactory match to the spectral shape of the unknown absorber.
Authors
- Joanna Victoria Egan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9676-3990)
- D. R. Marsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6699-494X)
- J. M. C. Plane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3648-6893)
- Alexander D. James (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0532-0065)
- Franck Lefèvre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5294-5426)
- James Manners (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4402-6811)
- Aurélien Stolzenbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6169-6820)
- S. Lebonnois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2390-8164)
- Wuhu Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9907-9120)
Institutions
- Met Office (GB)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- École Polytechnique (FR)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure - PSL (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (FR)
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science (GB)
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales (FR)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2025-02-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl113090
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.46
Funders
- Sight Research UK
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Science and Technology Facilities Council