Numerical simulations of the global circulation of the atmosphere of Venus: Effects of surface relief and solar radiation heating

Abstract

The results of numerical simulations of the global circulation of the atmosphere of Venus in the framework of the complete set of gas dynamics equations, taking into account surface relief, are presented. To calculate the radiative heating/cooling of the atmosphere, the relaxation approximation is used. The heat ing parameters, at which the modeled zonal superrotation velocity turned out to be close to the observed one, have been found. The results obtained are compared to the earlier published estimates from a model with a spherical surface of Venus. It has been shown that the presence of high mountains on Venus induces a sub stantial increase of the vertical component of the wind speed and noticeably influences the global distribution of the horizontal wind at altitudes exceeding 80 km, while its effect on this distribution below 60 km is weak.

Circulation of Venusian Atmosphere at 90–110 km Based on Apparent Motions of the O2 1.27 μm Nightglow From VIRTIS‐M (Venus Express) Data

“…Small longitudinal scale of a mountainous region might decrease the potential of generating gravity waves (Kouyama et al, ), which can be the reason for inconsistent detection of the influence by Phoebe Regio and similar sized highlands. Recent developments in the global circulation models point out the capability of vertical waves to reach the altitudes of 90–95 km (Mingalev et al, ).…”

Russian National Report: Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

“…High mountains on Venus induce a substantial increase of the vertical component of the wind speed and noticeably influence the global distribution of the horizontal wind at above 80 km, while its effect below 60 km is weak. [Mingalev et al, 2012[Mingalev et al, , 2015.…”