A One-dimensional Microphysical Model of the Venus Cloud System between 40 and 80 km Including Photochemistry and Radiative-dynamic Feedback | CU Experts

Abstract; We present results from 1D simulations using PlanetCARMA for Venus in which, for the first time, a sophisticated 1D cloud microphysics model has simultaneously incorporated simplified diurnally varying photochemistry, parameterized diurnally varying solar heating, interactive radiative cooling, and 1D radiative-dynamical feedback. The model basis is a state-of-the-art bin-resolved microphysics scheme. It also incorporates simplified photochemical production and loss rates for sulfuric acid and water vapors that have been extracted from the predictions by current state-of-the-art photochemical models in the literature. The radiative transfer model is a two-stream delta-scaled scheme. Convective mixing in this model is calculated using a Richardson number parameterization of the eddy diffusion coefficient. We find that the simulated clouds and upper hazes compare favorably with in situ and remote sensing measurements of the clouds. We find a measurable ∼400 day oscillation in the photochemical clouds. This 1D model can serve as a baseline of comparison for future work to explore effects of 3D mesoscale dynamics feedbacks on the Venus cloud structure.

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