Estimates of methane and ammonia abundance in the Jovian atmosphere with allowance for scattering in the clouds

Results of photoelectric measurements of the intensity in CH₄ 5430, 6190, and 7250 Å absorption bands, CH₄ absorption lines in the 3ν₃ band, and the NH₃ 6457.1 Å line are examined from the point of view of a model which takes into account the role of multiple scattering inside a homogeneous semi-infinite cloud layer in the formation of absorption components in the Jovian spectrum. Introduced are a number of simple ratios between depths of lines and bands and the parameters which characterize the properties of the cloud layer and the atmosphere above the clouds for occurrence of the Henyey-Greenstein scattering phase function at various degrees of asymmetry in g. The CH₄ content inside the cloud layer is determined as an equivalent thickness on the mean free path between scattering events. The latter was found to be equal to A_L ? 10 ± 2 m-amagat at g = 0.75 or A_L ? 20 ± 3 m-amagat at g = 0.5 along all the above-mentioned CH₄ absorption bands. For NH₃ it is A_L ? 31 ± 4 cm-amagat at g = 0.75 and A_L ? 62 ± 8 cm-amagat at g = 0.5.The weakening of the CH₄ absorption bands toward the edges of the Jovian disc requires a volume scattering coefficient in the cloud layer of σ_a ～ 10^?6 cm^?1. The mean specific abundance of NH₃ obtained within the cloud layer does not contradict the calculated abundance of saturated gaseous ammonia.