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 sulphur injection due to meteoric ablation. 1D multiple scattering
radiative transfer modelling 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.