Observations from the SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) instrument on the TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics) satellite show ...interannual variations of mesospheric ozone in the NH late winter. Ozone in the mid‐January to mid‐March period is significantly different in 2004, 2006, and 2009 than in other years (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). The altitudes of the ozone secondary maximum (∼90–95 km), the minimum (∼80 km) and the tertiary maximum (∼72 km) are all lower by 3–5 km during the three anomalous winters. The ozone anomalies indicate enhanced downward motion and are consistent with other observations of unusual profiles of trace species. The ozone perturbations extend to at least 100 km while temperatures above 90 km are within the range found in the other years.
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
We have analyzed limb daytime observations of Titan's upper atmosphere at 3.3 μm, acquired by the visual‐infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) on Cassini. They were previously studied by García‐Comas ...et al. (2011) to derive CH4 densities. Here, we report an unidentified emission peaking around 3.28 μm, hidden under the methane R branch. This emission is very strong, with intensity comparable to the CH4 bands located in the same spectral region. It presents a maximum at about 950 km and extends from 600 km up to 1250 km. It is definitely pumped by solar radiation since it vanishes at night. Our analysis shows that neither methane nor the major hydrocarbon compounds already discovered in Titan's upper atmosphere are responsible for it. We have discarded many other potential candidates and suggest that the unidentified emission might be caused by aromatic compounds.
Key Points
We observe an unknown emission in VIMS spectra of Titan's upper atmosphere
The feature is persistent, very strong, present at daytime and peaks at 950 km
Not caused by known Titan gases, aromatic hydrocarbons are likely carriers
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The kinetic temperature and line of sight elevation information are retrieved from the MIPAS Middle Atmosphere (MA), Upper Atmosphere (UA) and NoctiLucent-Cloud (NLC) modes of high spectral ...resolution limb observations of the CO2 15 μm emission using the dedicated IMK/IAA retrieval algorithm, which considers non-local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. These variables are accurately derived from about 20 km (MA) and 40 km (UA and NLC) to 105 km globally and both at daytime and nighttime. Typical temperature random errors are smaller than 0.5 K below 50 km, 0.5–2 K at 50–70 km, and 2–7 K above. The systematic error is typically 1 K below 70 km, 1–3 K from 70 to 85 km and 3–11 K from 85 to 100 km. The average vertical resolution is typically 4 km below 35 km, 3 km at 35–50 km, 4–6 km at 50–90 km, and 6–10 km above. We compared our MIPAS temperature retrievals from 2005 to 2009 with co-located ground-based measurements from the lidars located at the Table Mountain Facility and Mauna Loa Observatory, the SATI spectrograph in Granada (Spain) and the Davis station spectrometer, and satellite observations from ACE-FTS, Aura-MLS and TIMED-SABER from 20 km to 100 km. We also compared MIPAS temperatures with the high latitudes climatology from falling sphere measurements. The comparisons show very good agreement, with differences smaller than 3 K below 85–90 km in mid-latitudes. Differences over the poles in this altitude range are larger but can be generally explained in terms of known biases of the other instruments. The comparisons above 90 km worsen and MIPAS retrieved temperatures are always larger than other instrument measurements.
Characterisation of atmospheres undergoing photo-evaporation is key to understanding the formation, evolution, and diversity of planets. However, only a few upper atmospheres that experience this ...kind of hydrodynamic escape have been characterised. Our aim is to characterise the upper atmospheres of the hot Jupiters HAT-P-32b and WASP-69 b, the warm sub-Neptune GJ 1214 b, and the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b through high-resolution observations of their He I triplet absorption. In addition, we also reanalyse the warm Neptune GJ 3470 b and the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b. We used a spherically symmetric 1D hydrodynamic model coupled with a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model for calculating the He I triplet distribution along the escaping outflow. Comparing synthetic absorption spectra with observations, we constrained the main parameters of the upper atmosphere of these planets and classify them according to their hydrodynamic regime. Our results show that HAT-P-32 b photo-evaporates at (130 ± 70) ×10
11
g s
−1
with a hot (12 400 ± 2900 K) upper atmosphere; WASP-69 b loses its atmosphere at (0.9 ± 0.5) ×10
11
g s
−1
and 5250 ± 750 K; and GJ 1214b, with a relatively cold outflow of 3750 ± 750 K, photo-evaporates at (1.3 ± 1.1) ×10
11
g s
−1
. For WASP-76 b, its weak absorption prevents us from constraining its temperature and mass-loss rate significantly; we obtained ranges of 6000–17 000 K and 23.5 ± 21.5 ×10
11
g s
−1
. Our reanalysis of GJ 3470 b yields colder temperatures, 3400 ± 350 K, but practically the same mass-loss rate as in our previous results. Our reanalysis of HD 189733 b yields a slightly higher mass-loss rate, (1.4 ± 0.5) × 10
11
g s
−1
, and temperature, 12 700 ± 900 K compared to previous estimates. We also found that HAT-P-32 b, WASP-69 b, and WASP-76 b undergo hydrodynamic escape in the recombination-limited regime, and that GJ 1214 b is in the photon-limited regime. Our results support that photo-evaporated outflows tend to be very light, H/He ≳ 98/2. The dependences of the mass-loss rates and temperatures of the studied planets on the respective system parameters (X-ray and ultraviolet stellar flux, gravitational potential) are well explained by the current hydrodynamic escape models.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
We analyze two high-resolution spectral transit time series of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-32 b obtained with the CARMENES spectrograph. Our new
XMM-Newton
X-ray observations of the system show that the ...fast-rotating F-type host star exhibits a high X-ray luminosity of 2.3 × 10
29
erg s
−1
(5–100 Å), corresponding to a flux of 6.9 × 10
4
erg cm
−2
s
−1
at the planetary orbit, which results in an energy-limited escape estimate of about 10
13
g s
−1
for the planetary mass-loss rate. The spectral time series show significant, time-dependent absorption in the H
α
and He
I
λ
10833 triplet lines with maximum depths of about 3.3% and 5.3%. The mid-transit absorption signals in the H
α
and He
I
λ
10833 lines are consistent with results from one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling, which also yields mass-loss rates on the order of 10
13
g s
−1
. We observe an early ingress of a redshifted component of the transmission signal, which extends into a redshifted absorption component, persisting until about the middle of the optical transit. While a super-rotating wind can explain redshifted ingress absorption, we find that an up-orbit stream, transporting planetary mass in the direction of the star, also provides a plausible explanation for the pre-transit signal. This makes HAT-P-32 a benchmark system for exploring atmospheric dynamics via transmission spectroscopy.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
The recent 23–30 January and 7–11 March 2012 solar proton event (SPE) periods were substantial and caused significant impacts on the middle atmosphere. These were the two largest SPE periods of solar ...cycle 24 so far. The highly energetic solar protons produced considerable ionization of the neutral atmosphere as well as HOx (H, OH, HO2) and NOx (N, NO, NO2). We compute a NOx production of 1.9 and 2.1 Gigamoles due to these SPE periods in January and March 2012, respectively, which places these SPE periods among the 12 largest in the past 50 yr. Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) observations of the peroxy radical, HO2, show significant enhancements of > 0.9 ppbv in the northern polar mesosphere as a result of these SPE periods. Both MLS measurements and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) two-dimensional (2-D) model predictions indicated middle mesospheric ozone decreases of > 20% for several days in the northern polar region with maximum depletions > 60% over 1–2 days as a result of the HOx produced in both the January and March 2012 SPE periods. The SCISAT-1 Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE) and the Envisat Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) instruments measured NO and NO2 (~ NOx), which indicated enhancements of over 20 ppbv in most of the northern polar mesosphere for several days as a result of these SPE periods. The GSFC 2-D model and the Global Modeling Initiative three-dimensional chemistry and transport model were used to predict the medium-term (~ months) influence and showed that the polar middle atmospheric ozone was most affected by these solar events in the Southern Hemisphere due to the increased downward motion in the fall and early winter. The downward transport moved the SPE-produced NOy to lower altitudes and led to predicted modest destruction of ozone (5–13%) in the upper stratosphere days to weeks after the March 2012 event. Polar total ozone reductions were predicted to be a maximum of 1.5% in 2012 due to these SPEs.
Pronounced upper stratospheric and mesospheric NOx enhancements were measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) polar vortex ...from May to August 2003, reaching average abundances of 60 ppbv at 50–60 km in July. Peak mixing ratios of around 200 ppbv were measured in the polar night, representing the highest values ever recorded in the SH. The observed NOx enhancements are attributed to production by electron precipitation in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere and subsequent descent with the meridional circulation. Using measured CH4 and CO distributions as dynamic tracers, the downward transport of NOx‐rich air masses into the lower and middle stratosphere has been investigated. Upper atmospheric air with average NOx abundances of 15 ppbv reached the 800–1000 K potential temperature region (around 30 km) by the end of July, where it remained until the final warming in late October. The NOx descent was confined to the polar vortex, although significant mixing of tropical and NOx‐rich vortex air masses began already in August above 40 km. The amount of upper atmospheric NOy measured inside of the SH vortex in late spring was 1.1 Gigamoles (GM) which is in good agreement with previous estimates from HALOE data. The global coverage of MIPAS data further allows to quantify the upper atmospheric NOx dispersed into the stratosphere during August‐September, estimated in 1.3 GM. The net deposition of NOx into the stratosphere during the 2003 Antarctic winter (2.4 GM) makes up 9% of the N2O oxidation source in the SH, twice as much as estimated in previous studies. NOx and tracer distributions observed on several days during the NH winter 2002/2003 have been analyzed for comparison. We found that high planetary wave activity, resulting in the major midwinter warming had led to a rather inefficient NOx downward transport with negligible deposition of NOx into the lower and middle stratosphere.
The NOMAD (“Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery”) spectrometer suite on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has been designed to investigate the composition of Mars’ atmosphere, with a ...particular focus on trace gases, clouds and dust. The detection sensitivity for trace gases is considerably improved compared to previous Mars missions, compliant with the science objectives of the TGO mission. This will allow for a major leap in our knowledge and understanding of the Martian atmospheric composition and the related physical and chemical processes. The instrument is a combination of three spectrometers, covering a spectral range from the UV to the mid-IR, and can perform solar occultation, nadir and limb observations. In this paper, we present the science objectives of the instrument and explain the technical principles of the three spectrometers. We also discuss the expected performance of the instrument in terms of spatial and temporal coverage and detection sensitivity.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
In this work we extend a well-known model from arrested physical systems, and employ it in order to efficiently depict different currency pairs of foreign exchange market price fluctuation ...distributions. We consider the exchange rate price in the time range between 2010 and 2016 at yearly time intervals and resolved at one minute frequency. We then fit the experimental datasets with this model, and find significant qualitative symmetry between price fluctuation distributions from the currency market, and the ones belonging to colloidal particles position in arrested states. The main contribution of this paper is a well-known physical model that does not necessarily assume the independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) restrictive condition.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Light from celestial objects interacts with the molecules of the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in the production of telluric absorption lines in ground-based spectral data. Correcting for these ...lines, which strongly affect red and infrared wavelengths, is often needed in a wide variety of scientific applications. Here, we present the template division telluric modeling (TDTM) technique, a method for accurately removing telluric absorption lines in stars that exhibit numerous intrinsic features. Based on the Earth’s barycentric motion throughout the year, our approach is suited for disentangling telluric and stellar spectral components. By fitting a synthetic transmission model, telluric-free spectra are derived. We demonstrate the performance of the TDTM technique in correcting telluric contamination using a high-resolution optical spectral time series of the feature-rich M3.0 dwarf star Wolf 294 that was obtained with the CARMENES spectrograph. We apply the TDTM approach to the CARMENES survey sample, which consists of 382 targets encompassing 22 357 optical and 20 314 near-infrared spectra, to correct for telluric absorption. The corrected spectra are coadded to construct template spectra for each of our targets. This library of telluric-free, high signal-to-noise ratio, high-resolution (ℛ > 80 000) templates comprises the most comprehensive collection of spectral M-dwarf data available to date, both in terms of quantity and quality, and is available at the project website.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
