Estimates of convective heat fluxes and gravity wave amplitudes in the Venus middle cloud layer from VEGA balloon measurements

Abstract

Atmospheric temperatures and vertical velocities obtained from the VEGA balloon measurements indicate that the dynamical heat flux is upward and has an amplitude that ranges from 0 to 360 W m −2 in the middle cloud region. The static stability is positive and ranges from 0 to 2.0 K km −1. Time series analysis of these results indicates that convection is the principal mechanism for generating the large vertical motions. Gravity waves were also detected at these levels and account for about 15% of the covariance between temperature and vertical velocity.