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Atmosphere
Volume 16
Issue 5
10.3390/atmos16050572
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Cloud Opacity Variations from Nighttime Observations in Venus Transparency Windows

by
Daria Evdokimova
1,*,
Anna Fedorova
1,
Nikolay Ignatiev
1,
Mariya Zharikova
1,
Oleg Korablev
1,
Franck Montmessin
2 and
Jean-Loup Bertaux
3
1
Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
2
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) Université Paris-Saclay, 78280 Guyancourt, France
3
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atmosphere 2025, 16(5), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050572 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 March 2025 / Revised: 27 April 2025 / Accepted: 7 May 2025 / Published: 10 May 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Planetary Atmospheres)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The thick cloud layer enshrouding Venus influences its thermal balance and climate evolution. However, our knowledge of total optical depth, spatial and temporal variations in the clouds is limited. We present the first complete study of the SPICAV IR spectrometer observations in the 1.28- and 1.31-µm atmospheric transparency windows during the Venus Express mission in 2006–2014. The nadir spectra were analyzed with one-dimensional multiple scattering radiative transfer model to obtain the variability of total cloud opacity on the Venus night side. The optical depth recomputed to 1 µm averages 36.7 with a standard deviation of 6.1. Cloud opacity depends on latitude, with a minimum at 50–55° N. In the Southern Hemisphere, this latitude dependence is less pronounced due to the reduced spatial resolution of the experiment, determined by the eccentricity of the spacecraft’s orbit. Cloud opacity exhibits strong variability at short time scales, mostly in the range of 25–50. The variability is more pronounced in the equatorial region. The lack of imaging capability limits the quantitative characterization of the periodicity. No persistent longitude or local time trends were detected.
Keywords: cloud opacity; Venus atmosphere; infrared spectroscopy; acousto-optical tunable filter spectrometer; radiative transfer model; CO2 continuum cloud opacity; Venus atmosphere; infrared spectroscopy; acousto-optical tunable filter spectrometer; radiative transfer model; CO2 continuum

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MDPI and ACS Style

Evdokimova, D.; Fedorova, A.; Ignatiev, N.; Zharikova, M.; Korablev, O.; Montmessin, F.; Bertaux, J.-L. Cloud Opacity Variations from Nighttime Observations in Venus Transparency Windows. Atmosphere 2025, 16, 572. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050572

AMA Style

Evdokimova D, Fedorova A, Ignatiev N, Zharikova M, Korablev O, Montmessin F, Bertaux J-L. Cloud Opacity Variations from Nighttime Observations in Venus Transparency Windows. Atmosphere. 2025; 16(5):572. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050572

Chicago/Turabian Style

Evdokimova, Daria, Anna Fedorova, Nikolay Ignatiev, Mariya Zharikova, Oleg Korablev, Franck Montmessin, and Jean-Loup Bertaux. 2025. "Cloud Opacity Variations from Nighttime Observations in Venus Transparency Windows" Atmosphere 16, no. 5: 572. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050572

APA Style

Evdokimova, D., Fedorova, A., Ignatiev, N., Zharikova, M., Korablev, O., Montmessin, F., & Bertaux, J.-L. (2025). Cloud Opacity Variations from Nighttime Observations in Venus Transparency Windows. Atmosphere, 16(5), 572. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050572

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