Variability of SO2 and HDO at the cloudtop of Venus from high-resolution infrared spectroscopy

Since January 2012, we have mapped the SO2 and HDO mixing ratios at the cloudtop of Venus using the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) at the Infrared Telescope Fac ility (IRTF). The HDO maps appear homogeneous over the Venus disk. In contrast, the SO2 maps show strong variations over the disk and within a time scale of two hours. Both molecules show longterm variations with no apparent correlation between the two species.