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Identification of deuterium ions in the ionosphere of Venus
Author(s) -
Hartle R. E.,
Taylor H. A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl010i010p00965
Subject(s) - venus , atmosphere of venus , ionosphere , orbiter , deuterium , ion , mass spectrometry , astrobiology , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , physics , astronomy , atomic physics , meteorology , quantum mechanics
The dominant mass 2 ion in the ionosphere of Venus is identified as D + through analysis of the height variation of [mass 2 ion]/[H + ] measured in the chemical equilibrium region by the ion mass spectrometer on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. This result leads to [D]/[H] = (2.2 ± 0.6) × 10 −2 at the turbopause, which agrees with the ratio measured in the lower atmosphere by the large probe mass spectrometer. The 100‐fold deuterium enrichment supports previous suggestions that Venus has lost at least 0.3 percent of a terrestrial ocean.