Vertical structure of cloud layers in the atmospheres of giant planets. I. On the influence of variations of some atmospheric parameters on the vertical structure characteristics

Abstract

The influence of variations in the parameters, determining the physical properties of a medium, on the characteristics of the vertical structure of clouds in the Jovian atmosphere has been studied. The data from spectrophotometric measurements of Jupiter carried out in the spectral range from 500 to 900 nm during 1993 were processed. The analysis was performed with the method suggested by A.V. Morozhenko. We used a special software that was developed to define the behavior of the aerosol scattering component of the effective optical thickness versus the depth in a semi-infinite atmosphere. Spectral absorption bands of the atmospheric gas were considered. The characteristics of the vertical structure of the aerosol component of the Jovian atmosphere averaged over the planetary disk were determined: in the atmospheric layer with a pressure ranging from 0.12 to 1.3 bar, the volume density of the aerosol cloud first rapidly increases and then gently reaches its maximum; from 1.3 to 4.0 bar, the aerosol cloud becomes extremely rarefied; from 4.0 to 15.0 bar, there are no indications of significant aerosol inclusions.