Identification of OSSO as a near-UV absorber in the Venusian atmosphere

Benjamin Normann Frandsen; Paul O. Wennberg; Henrik Grum Kjærgaard

doi:10.1002/2016gl070916

Identification of OSSO as a near-UV absorber in the Venusian atmosphere

Benjamin Normann Frandsen, Paul O. Wennberg, Henrik Grum Kjærgaard^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Chemistry

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The planet Venus exhibits atmospheric absorption in the 320–400 nm wavelength range produced by unknown chemistry. We investigate electronic transitions in molecules that may exist in the atmosphere of Venus. We identify two different S₂O₂ isomers, cis-OSSO and trans-OSSO, which are formed in significant amounts and are removed predominantly by near-UV photolysis. We estimate the rate of photolysis of cis- and trans-OSSO in the Venusian atmosphere and find that they are good candidates to explain the enigmatic 320–400 nm near-UV absorption. Between 58 and 70 km, the calculated OSSO concentrations are similar to those of sulfur monoxide (SO), generally thought to be the second most abundant sulfur oxide on Venus.

Original language	English
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	43
Issue number	21
Pages (from-to)	11,146-11,155
Number of pages	10
ISSN	0094-8276
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2016gl070916
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

Near-UV absorption
Sulfur oxides
Venus Atmosphere

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title = "Identification of OSSO as a near-UV absorber in the Venusian atmosphere",

abstract = "The planet Venus exhibits atmospheric absorption in the 320–400 nm wavelength range produced by unknown chemistry. We investigate electronic transitions in molecules that may exist in the atmosphere of Venus. We identify two different S2O2 isomers, cis-OSSO and trans-OSSO, which are formed in significant amounts and are removed predominantly by near-UV photolysis. We estimate the rate of photolysis of cis- and trans-OSSO in the Venusian atmosphere and find that they are good candidates to explain the enigmatic 320–400 nm near-UV absorption. Between 58 and 70 km, the calculated OSSO concentrations are similar to those of sulfur monoxide (SO), generally thought to be the second most abundant sulfur oxide on Venus.",

keywords = "Near-UV absorption, Sulfur oxides, Venus Atmosphere",

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language = "English",

volume = "43",

pages = "11,146--11,155",

journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",

issn = "0094-8276",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Identification of OSSO as a near-UV absorber in the Venusian atmosphere

AU - Frandsen, Benjamin Normann

AU - Wennberg, Paul O.

AU - Kjærgaard, Henrik Grum

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - The planet Venus exhibits atmospheric absorption in the 320–400 nm wavelength range produced by unknown chemistry. We investigate electronic transitions in molecules that may exist in the atmosphere of Venus. We identify two different S2O2 isomers, cis-OSSO and trans-OSSO, which are formed in significant amounts and are removed predominantly by near-UV photolysis. We estimate the rate of photolysis of cis- and trans-OSSO in the Venusian atmosphere and find that they are good candidates to explain the enigmatic 320–400 nm near-UV absorption. Between 58 and 70 km, the calculated OSSO concentrations are similar to those of sulfur monoxide (SO), generally thought to be the second most abundant sulfur oxide on Venus.

AB - The planet Venus exhibits atmospheric absorption in the 320–400 nm wavelength range produced by unknown chemistry. We investigate electronic transitions in molecules that may exist in the atmosphere of Venus. We identify two different S2O2 isomers, cis-OSSO and trans-OSSO, which are formed in significant amounts and are removed predominantly by near-UV photolysis. We estimate the rate of photolysis of cis- and trans-OSSO in the Venusian atmosphere and find that they are good candidates to explain the enigmatic 320–400 nm near-UV absorption. Between 58 and 70 km, the calculated OSSO concentrations are similar to those of sulfur monoxide (SO), generally thought to be the second most abundant sulfur oxide on Venus.

KW - Near-UV absorption

KW - Sulfur oxides

KW - Venus Atmosphere

U2 - 10.1002/2016gl070916

DO - 10.1002/2016gl070916

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84998890674

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 43

SP - 11,146-11,155

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 21

ER -

Identification of OSSO as a near-UV absorber in the Venusian atmosphere

Abstract

Keywords

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