Publication Date:
1991-02-01
Description:
Absorption lines of HDO and H2O have been detected in a 0.23-wave number resolution spectrum of the dark side of Venus in the interval 2.34 to 2.43 micrometers, where the atmosphere is sounded in the altitude range from 32 to 42 kilometers (8 to 3 bars). The resulting value of the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) is 120 +/- 40 times the telluric ratio, providing unequivocal confirmation of in situ Pioneer Venus mass spectrometer measurements that were in apparent conflict with an upper limit set from International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra. The 100-fold enrichment of the D/H ratio on Venus compared to Earth is thus a fundamental constraint on models for its atmospheric evolution.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉de Bergh, C -- Bezard, B -- Owen, T -- Crisp, D -- Maillard J-P -- Lutz, B L -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 1991 Feb 1;251:547-9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Departement de Recherche Spatiale, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11538265" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
*Atmosphere
;
Carbon Dioxide/analysis
;
Deuterium/*analysis/*chemistry
;
*Extraterrestrial Environment
;
Hydrogen/analysis/chemistry
;
Models, Theoretical
;
Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
;
*Venus
;
Water/analysis/chemistry
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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