Planetary Atmospheres
Cover Page/Proposal Summary
ROSS-00 NRA 00-OSS-01
Date Due: 4/28/2000
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: Aeronomy |
Major Equipment Proposal? No |
Do you intend to submit an Education/Public Outreach (E/PO) proposal? No |
Proposal Title: |
Saturn's Upper Atmospheric Structure as Derived From a Reanalysis of the Voyager Ultraviolet Spectrometer Occultations |
Abbreviated Proposal Title: |
Reanalysis of the Voyager UVS Saturn Occultations |
Principal Investigator: |
Dr. Ronald J. Vervack Jr. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory 11100 Johns Hopkins Road Laurel, MD 20723-6099 Phone: 240-228-8221 Fax: 240-228-6670 E-mail: Ron.Vervack@jhuapl.edu |
Signature | Date |
_____________________________________ | ____________ |
Co-Investigators and Collaborators: | |||
Type | Name | Affiliation | |
Sci Co-I | Dr. Jeng-Hwa Yee | JHU/APL | jeng-hwa.yee@jhuapl.edu |
Sci Collab | Dr. Darrell F. Strobel | JHU | strobel@jhu.edu |
Proposal Summary:
We propose to reanalyze the Saturn Voyager 1 and 2 Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) occultations. These occultation data are the only direct source of information we have on the neutral upper atmosphere of Saturn. Previous analyses of the occultations have yielded number densities for the major atmospheric species as well as the exospheric temperature. These have been integral to photochemical, thermal, and ionospheric models and have been critical in interpreting numerous other observations (e.g., airglow spectra, torus supply rates). However, discrepancies between other observations and the Voyager UVS results have been noted for Saturn, prompting the need for a reanalysis of these data. In the years since the original analyses of the UVS data, analysis techniques, computing technology, and laboratory data have vastly improved. Our proposed research will utilize these advances to provide significantly improved number density profiles for several species. We will also improve the estimates of the exospheric temperatures and extend the temperature profiles to lower altitudes. These new results will be complementary to those provided by ISO, HST, and ground-based observations, allowing the construction of self-consistent atmospheric models for Saturn. Such models are not only of interest for their intrinsic scientific value but also for their importance to the Cassini Mission.
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:
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).