Planetary Atmospheres

Cover Page/Proposal Summary

ROSS-99    NRA 99-OSS-01

Date Due: 5/3/99

NASA PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING PROPOSALS

This proposal shall be used and disclosed for evaluation purposes only, and a copy of this Government notice shall be applied to any reproduction or abstract thereof. Any authorized restrictive notices that the submitter places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal for any reason outside the Government evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extent authorized by the Government.

Confirmation # 00-009   Date Received: Apr 07, 1999

Proposal Type: New Proposal

Proposal Category: Atmosphere Structures and Particles

Major Equipment Proposal? No

Do you intend to submit an Education/Public Outreach (E/PO) proposal? No

Proposal Title:
Hydrocarbons in Jupiter's Troposphere

Abbreviated Proposal Title:
Hydrocarbons in Jupiter's Troposphere

Principal Investigator:
Dr. Donald M. Hunten
Dept. Planetary Sci. Lunar And Planetary Lab.
University of Arizona
1629 E. University Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85721-0092
Phone: 520-621-4002   Fax: 520-621-4933   E-mail: dhunten@lpl.arizona.edu

SignatureDate
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Co-Investigators and Collaborators:
Type    Name    Affiliation    E-mail
Sci Co-I   Dr. Ann L. Sprague   Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona   sprague@lpl.arizona.edu


Proposal Summary:

Existing models of Jovian hydrocarbons and smog particles by authors such as Atreya, Yung, and Gladstone et al. consider their photochemical production from methane in the stratosphere, followed by downward transport to the very cold region of the tropopause. Although these models do not find any condensation, it is likely that some of the molecules condense on or absorb into the smog particles, which sediment into the lower atmosphere. This proposal is to model their further evolution as they encounter warmer and warmer temperatures at pressures of 1 bar and greater. The lighter molecules should evaporate, and the heavier ones that make up the particles may also evaporate or decompose. Results for various assumptions will be compared with the measurements made by the Galileo Probe Mass Spectrometer, which show abundant mass peaks apparently corresponding to C-2 and C-3 hydrocarbons.