Cover Page/Proposal Summary

ROSS-00    NRA 00-OSS-01

Date Due: 4/28/2000

NASA PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING PROPOSALS This proposal shall be used and disclosed for evaluation purposes only, and a copy of this Government notice shall be applied to any reproduction or abstract thereof. Any authorized restrictive notices that the submitter places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal for any reason outside the Government evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extent authorized by the Government.

Proposal Type: New Proposal

Proposal Category: Laboratory

Major Equipment Proposal? No

Do you intend to submit an Education/Public Outreach (E/PO) proposal? No

Proposal Title:

Kinetics of the Thermochemical Reactions Important in the Venus Atmospheric Sulfur Cycle

Abbreviated Proposal Title:

Kinetics of the Venus Sulfur Cycle

Principal Investigator:

Dr. Bruce Fegley Jr. Department of Earth & Planetary Sci. Washington University One Brookings Dr. Campus Box 1169 St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 Phone: 314-935-4852   Fax: 314-935-7361   E-mail: bfegley@levee.wustl.edu

Signature	Date
_____________________________________	____________

Co-Investigators and Collaborators:
Type	Name	Affiliation	E-mail
Sci Collab	Dr. Goestar Klingelhoefer	Johannes Gutenberg Universitat

Proposal Summary:

We propose to continue using various experimental techniques and theoretical models to study thermochemical reactions important for the present (and past) atmospheric sulfur cycle on Venus. These experiments and models are important for understanding the abundances and speciation of sulfur gases in Venus' sub-cloud atmosphere, the maintenance of the global sulfuric acid cloud cover, the roles played by chemical weathering reactions and volcanism in the atmospheric sulfur cycle, for interpreting results from past space missions to Venus (Pioneer Venus, Magellan, Galileo flyby, Venera, and Vega), for interpreting results from Earth-based and Earth-orbital telescopic observations, and for the design of new space missions to Venus. Emphasis will be placed on four tasks: (1) experimental study of production of reduced sulfur gases (carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur vapor) via chemical weathering of iron sulfides, (2) experimental study of loss of sulfur dioxide via chemical weathering of calcium-bearing minerals, (3) theoretical modeling of the volcanically outgassed sulfur gases, and (4) theoretical modeling of volcanically outgassed volatile metallic phases containing sulfur and the related elements selenium and tellurium.

Certification of Compliance with Applicable Executive Orders and U.S. Code By submitting the proposal identified in this Cover Sheet/Proposal Summary in response to this NRA or AO, the Authorizing Official of the proposing institution (or the individual proposer if there is no proposing institution) as identified below: certifies that the statements made in this proposal are true and complete to the best of his/her knowledge; agrees to accept the obligations to comply with NASA award terms and conditions if an award is made as a result of this proposal; and confirms compliance with all provisions, rules, and stipulations set forth in the three Certifications contained in this NRA [namely, (i) Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters Primary Cover Transactions, (ii) Certification Regarding Lobbying, and (iii) Certification of Compliance with the NASA Regulations Pursuant to Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs]. Willful provision of false information in this proposal and/or its supporting documents, or in reports required under an ensuing award, is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).