Solar wind sputtering effects in the atmospheres of Mars and VenusIt is found through an investigation, combining Monte Carlo simulations and analytical techniques, of the direct collisional interaction of an energetic particle flux with the neutral components of a planetary atmosphere, that solar wind sputtering could provide an important exospheric mass sink on both Mars and Venus under appropriate conditions. The computed rates of helium loss in the Venusian atmosphere and of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in the Martian atmosphere imply that sputtering would have a significant effect on the noble gas budget of Venus and dominate the chemical and photochemical loss processes of Mars. Because of diffusive separation of lighter elements and isotopes, and because the gravitational binding energy is proportional to the mass, the erosion process preferentially removes the lighter components of the atmosphere. Solar wind sputtering could therefore compete with other erosion mechanisms in generating substantial fractionation effects.
Document ID
19820038860
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Watson, C. C. (California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Haff, P. K. (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA; Yale University New Haven, CT, United States)
Tombrello, T. A. (California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, United States)