Some issues related to evolution of planetary atmospheres
Abstract
This work considers several issues related to atmospheric evolution on Venus and Earth. Chapter 1 introduces 5 topics related to atmospheric evolution on Venus which will be specifically addressed in remaining chapters: (1) photochemical stability of CO2, (2) abundance and distribution of water, (3) abundance of CO and oxidation state of the atmosphere, (4) hydrogen escape and its effect on composition, and (5) deuterium enrichment. Chapter 2 considers the response of the hydrogen escape flux on Venus to changes in composition, effusion velocity, and temperature. Chapter 3 establishes the observational, thermodynamic, and photochemical constraints on the abundance of molecular hydrogen above the clouds of Venus. Chapter 4 extends the work of Yung and DeMore (1982) on the photochemical stability of CO2, employing more realistic models for sulphur and water supply to the stratophere. Chapter 5 considers the evolutionary implications of recent work on specific nonthermal escape mechanisms using results from earlier chapters to constrain evolutionary models. Chapter 6 is a separate investigation of the evolution of noble gases on Earth.
- Publication:
-
Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- 1983
- Bibcode:
- 1983PhDT.........1Y
- Keywords:
-
- Carbon Dioxide;
- Deuterium;
- Earth (Planet);
- Planetary Evolution;
- Venus Atmosphere;
- Atmospheric Composition;
- Hydrogen;
- Photochemical Reactions;
- Temperature Measurement;
- Thermodynamic Properties;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration