Venus: Mesospheric hazes of ice,dust, and acid aerosols

We speculate on the origin and physical properties of haze in the upper atmosphere of Venus. It is argued that at least four distinct types of particles may be present. The densest and lowest haze, normally seen by spacecraft, probably consists of a submicron sulfuric acid aerosol which extends above the cloud tops (at ～70 km) up to ～80 km; this haze represents an extension of the upper cloud deck. Measurements of the temperature structure between 70 and 120 km indicate that two independent water ice layers may occasionally appear. The lower one can form between 80 and 100 km and is probably the detached haze layer seen in high-contrast limb photography. This ice layer is likely to be nucleated on sulfuric acid aerosols, and is analogous to the nacreous (stratospheric) clouds on Earth. At the Venus “mesopause” near 120 km, temperatures are frequently cold enough to allow ice nucleation on meteoric dust or ambient ions. The resulting haze (which is analogous to noctilucent clouds on Earth) is expected to be extremely tenous, and optically invisible. On both Earth and Venus, meteoric dust is present throughout the upper atmosphere and probably has similar properties.