Independent radio-occultation studies of venus' atmosphere

Two independent analyses of the dual-frequency radio-occultation experiment performed by Mariner 10 at Venus are presented. Using closed-loop frequency data obtained at NASA's Goldstone facility, we have computed S- and X-band pressure-temperature profiles for Venus' neutral atmosphere, and an S-band profile of the nightside ionosphere. Neutral atmosphere dispersion between the two frequencies is negligible (less than 0.1% in refractivity), as expected for a CO₂ atmosphere. The results confirm those obtained by Howard et al. (1974) from the same S-band data with an accuracy of ±5°K at a given pressure level, though there is a discrepancy of 1 km in the radial scale between the two analyses. These two Mariner 10 profiles are compared with the Mariner 5 occultation profile and in situ measurements by Veneras 8, 9, and 10. The occultation was also monitored at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, though only at X-band. Despite the much lower quality of these data, a reasonable neutral atmosphere refractivity profile above 65 km was obtained from the occultation entry. Uncertainties in the calculated temperatures, however, are too large to permit useful comparison with previous results. The existence of real anomalies in both the amplitude and frequency of the signal during exit from occultation is confirmed.