On the detectability of H2S in Jupiter

The influence of hydrogen sulfide, a still-undetected key molecule for the Jovian atmospheric chemistry in the infrared spectrum, was investigated. Synthetic spectra including various vertical distribution profiles of H₂S have been computed and compared with observational data for Jupiter in the 2- to 15-cm^?1 and 1160- to 1200-cm^?1 spectral ranges. No firm conclusion about the presence of H₂S can be drawn from the latter spectral region because of large uncertainties in gaseous opacities. In the microwave range, H₂S is found to be a possible candidate to explain the measurements. Constraints to its vertical distribution which would imply a significant supersaturation in the troposphere are derived. Physical and chemical processes involving H₂S in the atmosphere are discussed in the light of this hypothesis.