Haze and Cloud Models of Jupiter and Saturn

托马斯科博士将继续开展一个项目，研究木星和土星大气中构成雾霾的粒子的特性。 大多数必要的地面观测都已完成，但数据的减少和分析仍然存在。 木星和土星的可见图像揭示了这些行星盘上存在明亮和黑暗的云特征。 这种固体云颗粒可以在行星大气的化学、热平衡和动力学中发挥重要作用。 现在已知，木星和土星的平流层中通过光化学反应形成了相对较薄的小颗粒雾霾，并且可能因陨石的坠落而增强。 这些颗粒落到对流层水平，在那里它们可以充当包括氨在内的几种大气气体的凝结核。 尽管这些粒子在行星过程中很重要，但它们相互作用的复杂性使得利用遥感观测来唯一确定它们的特性变得困难。 托马斯科博士的项目旨在获得一套协调一致的木星和土星地面观测数据，这将大大增强我们对这些雾霾颗粒的理解。

Dr. Tomasko will continue a project to study the properties of particles which make up a haze in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Most of the necessary ground-based observations are in hand, but reduction and analysis of the data remain. Visible images of Jupiter and Saturn reveal the presence of bright and dark cloud features over the disks of these planets. Such solid cloud particles can play important roles in the chemistry, heat balance, and dynamics of planetary atmospheres. It is now known that a relatively thin haze of small particles is formed in the stratospheres of both Jupiter and Saturn by photochemical reactions, possibly augmented by meteoritic infall. These particles fall to tropospheric levels where they can act as nuclei for the condensation of several atmospheric gases, including ammonia. Despite the importance of these particles in planetary processes, the complex nature of their interaction has made it difficult to use remote sensing observations to uniquely determine their properties. Dr. Tomasko's project is aimed at obtaining a coordinated set of ground-based observations of Jupiter and Saturn which will substantially enhance our understanding of these haze particles.