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The Abundances of Methane and Ortho/Para Hydrogen in Uranus and Neptune: Implications of New Laboratory 4-0 H(sub 2) Quadrapole Line ParametersThe tropospheric methane molar fraction (f(sub ch4,t)) and the ortho/para hydrogen ratio are derived for Uranus and Neptune based on new determinations of spectroscopic parameters for key hydrogen features as reported by Ferguson et al. (1993, J. Mol. Spec 160, 315-325). For each planet, the relatively weak laboratory linestrengths (approximately 30% and 15% less than the theoretical 4-0 S(0) and S(1) linestrengths, respectively) results, when compared to analyses adopting theoretical values, in a ~30% decrease in the tropospheric methane ratio and a comparable increase in the pressure level of the optically-thick cloudtop marking the bottom of the visible atmosphere (P(sub cld)).
Document ID
20060042161
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Baines, K.
Mickelson, M.
Larson, L.
Ferguson, D.
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Uranus atmosphere; Neptune atmosphere; abundances atmospheres; atmospheres
composition; atmospheres structure

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