Atmosphere Of Mercury Research Articles

Understanding the Dust Environment at Mercury: From Surface to Exosphere

We provide an overview of our understanding of the dust environment at Mercury and the role that dust plays in shaping the planet's surface and exosphere. Our understanding of the role that dust impacts play in the generation of Mercury's atmosphere has evolved considerably with continued analysis of results from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission. Recent models have provided evidence for the probable release of refractory species into Mercury's exosphere via impacts. However, there remain significant questions regarding the relative contributions of atoms released via impacts versus other mechanisms (e.g., photon-stimulated desorption) to the overall exospheric budget. We also discuss the state of observational and modeling efforts to constrain the dust environment at Mercury, including sources from the zodiacal cloud, cometary trails, and interstellar dust. We describe the advancements that will be made in our characterization of dust at Mercury with BepiColombo, providing observational constraints on the dust clouds themselves and the role that impacts play in exospheric generation. On Mercury's surface, there remain outstanding questions regarding the role that dust impacts play in the regolith cycling and development. We review how improved modeling efforts to understand grain lifetimes as a function of impactor flux will further our understanding of Mercury's regolith. Finally, there are few constraints on the role of dust impacts on the space weathering of Mercury's surface, particularly the expected chemical, physical, and spectral alterations to the regolith. Here we discuss the importance of laboratory experiments to simulate these processes for the interpretation of data from MESSENGER and BepiColombo.

Mercury's subsolar sodium exosphere: an ab initio calculation to interpret MASCS/UVVS observations from MESSENGER

Abstract. The optical spectroscopy measurements of sodium in Mercury's exosphere near the subsolar point by MESSENGER Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (MASCS/UVVS) have been interpreted before with a model employing two exospheric components of different temperatures. Here we use an updated version of the Monte Carlo (MC) exosphere model developed by Wurz and Lammer (2003) to calculate the Na content of the exosphere for the observation conditions ab initio. In addition, we compare our results to the ones according to Chamberlain theory. Studying several release mechanisms, we find that close to the surface, thermal desorption dominates driven by a surface temperature of 594 K, whereas at higher altitudes micro-meteorite impact vaporization prevails with a characteristic energy of 0.34 eV. From the surface up to 500 km the MC model results agree with the Chamberlain model, and both agree well with the observations. At higher altitudes, the MC model using micro-meteorite impact vaporization explains the observation well. We find that the combination of thermal desorption and micro-meteorite impact vaporization reproduces the observation of the selected day quantitatively over the entire observed altitude range, with the calculations performed based on the prevailing environment and orbit parameters. These findings help in improving our understanding of the physical conditions at Mercury's exosphere as well as in better interpreting mass-spectrometry data obtained to date and in future missions such as BepiColombo.

Analysis of the MESSENGER MASCS photometric targets part II: Photometric variability between geomorphological units

This study examines the level of structural uniformity within Mercury's regolith as a function of geomorphological unit. Using two categories of photometric models (Hapke versus Kaasalainen–Shkuratov), the variation between and within similar geomorphological units are examined with the Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) photometry sequence data sets. The results show evidence for variations in the spectral and photometric scattering properties both within similar geomorphological units and between different geomorphological units. The ejecta and cratering units show the largest differences between the modeling results, each indicating variations in different properties. The results for the intercrater materials, smooth materials, and dark materials show consistent results between both models. The variations include possible differences in grain structures, regolith compaction, and surface roughness on micron to millimeter scales.

Analysis of the MESSENGER MASCS photometric targets part I: Photometric standardization for examining spectral variability across Mercury's surface

Examination of the Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) photometry sequence data sets, and comparison of modeling results using both the Hapke and Kaasalainen–Shkuratov models show that these models can provide an improved photometric standardization to the MASCS's Visible and InfraRed Spectrograph (VIRS) data sets over the current empirical correction. Properties of the MASCS photometric data set are less constraining of the Hapke model, producing more than one mathematically viable solution set of parameters. The Kaasalainen–Shkuratov model, while simpler, produces a single mathematically viable solution set to the global MASCS photometric data set, and was selected by the MASCS instrument team to provide an updated photometric standardization for the team's final delivery to the Planetary Data System archive.

Venus Upper Clouds and the UV Absorber From MESSENGER/MASCS Observations

AbstractOne of the most intriguing, long‐standing questions regarding Venus's atmosphere is the origin and distribution of the unknown UV absorber, responsible for the absorption band detected at the near‐UV and blue range of Venus's spectrum. In this work, we use data collected by Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) spectrograph on board the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission during its second Venus flyby in June 2007 to address this issue. Spectra range from 0.3 μm to 1.5 μm including some gaseous H2O and CO2 bands, as well as part of the SO2 absorption band and the core of the UV absorption. We used the NEMESIS radiative transfer code and retrieval suite to investigate the vertical distribution of particles in the equatorial atmosphere and to retrieve the imaginary refractive indices of the UV absorber, assumed to be well mixed with Venus's small mode 1 particles. The results show a homogeneous equatorial atmosphere, with cloud tops (height for unity optical depth) at 75 ± 2 km above surface. The UV absorption is found to be centered at 0.34 ± 0.03 μm with a full width at half maximum of 0.14 ± 0.01 μm. Our values are compared with previous candidates for the UV aerosol absorber, among which disulfur oxide (S2O) and dioxide disulfur (S2O2) provide the best agreement with our results.

Integrating life cycle assessment and emergy synthesis for the evaluation of a dry steam geothermal power plant in Italy

Greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and the rising energy demand are currently seen as most crucial environmental concerns. With the exploration of renewable energy sources to meet the challenges of energy security and climate change, geothermal energy is expected to play an important role.In this study a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and an EMA (Emergy Assessment) of a 20 MW dry steam geothermal power plant located in the Tuscany Region (Italy) are performed and discussed. The plant is able to produce electricity by utilizing locally available renewable resources together with a moderate support by non-renewable resources. This makes the geothermal source eligible to produce renewable electricity. However, the direct utilization of the geothermal fluid generates the release into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals that highly contribute to climate change, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, human toxicity and photochemical oxidation.The study aims to understand to what extent the geothermal power plant is environmentally sound, in spite of claims by local populations, and if there are steps and/or components that require further attention. The application of the Emergy Synthesis method provides a complementary perspective to LCA, by highlighting the direct and indirect contribution in terms of natural capital and ecosystem services to the power plant construction and operation.The environmental impacts of the geothermal power plant are also compared to those of renewable and fossil-based power plants. The release of CO2-eq calculated for the investigated geothermal plant (248 g kWh−1) is lower than fossil fuel based power plants but still higher than renewable technologies like solar photovoltaic and hydropower plant. Moreover, the SO2-eq release associated to the geothermal power plant (3.37 g kWh−1) is comparable with fossil fuel based power plants.Results suggest the need for further investigation of other geothermal options (e.g. binary systems) in order to reduce the environmental impacts while taking the maximum advantage of the geothermal resource.

Orbital multispectral mapping of Mercury with the MESSENGER Mercury Dual Imaging System: Evidence for the origins of plains units and low-reflectance material

A principal data product from MESSENGER’s primary orbital mission at Mercury is a global multispectral map in eight visible to near-infrared colors, at an average pixel scale of 1km, acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System. The constituent images have been calibrated, photometrically corrected to a standard geometry, and map projected. Global analysis reveals no spectral units not seen during MESSENGER’s Mercury flybys and supports previous conclusions that most spectral variation is related to changes in spectral slope and reflectance between spectral end-member high-reflectance red plains (HRP) and low-reflectance material (LRM). Comparison of color properties of plains units mapped on the basis of morphology shows that the two largest unambiguously volcanic smooth plains deposits (the interior plains of Caloris and the northern plains) are close to HRP end members and have average color properties distinct from those of most other smooth plains and intercrater plains. In contrast, smaller deposits of smooth plains are nearly indistinguishable from intercrater plains on the basis of their range of color properties, consistent with the interpretation that intercrater plains are older equivalents of smooth plains. LRM having nearly the same reflectance is exposed in crater and basin ejecta of all ages, suggesting impact excavation from depth of material that is intrinsically dark or darkens very rapidly, rather than gradual darkening of exposed material purely by space weathering. A global search reveals no definitive absorptions attributable to Fe2+-containing silicates or to sulfides over regions 20km or more in horizontal extent, consistent with results from MESSENGER’s Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer. The only absorption-like feature identified is broad upward curvature of the spectrum centered near 600nm wavelength. The feature is strongest in freshly exposed LRM and weak or absent in older exposures of LRM. We modeled spectra of LRM as intimate mixtures of HRP with candidate low-reflectance phases having a similar 600-nm spectral feature, under the assumption that the grain size is 1μm or larger. Sulfides measured to date in the laboratory and coarse-grained iron are both too bright to produce LRM from HRP. Ilmenite is sufficiently dark but would require Ti abundances too high to be consistent with MESSENGER X-Ray Spectrometer measurements. Three phases or mixtures of phases that could be responsible for the low reflectance of LRM are consistent with our analyses. Graphite, in amounts consistent with upper limits from the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer, may be consistent with geochemical models of Mercury’s differentiation calling for a graphite-enriched primary flotation crust from an early magma ocean and impact mixing of that early crust before or during the late heavy bombardment (LHB) into material underlying the volcanic plains. The grain size of preexisting iron or iron sulfide could have been altered to a mix of nanophase and microphase grains by shock during those impacts, lowering reflectance. Alternatively, iron-bearing phases and carbon in a late-accreting carbonaceous veneer may have been stirred into the lower crust or upper mantle. Decoupling of variations in color from abundances of major elements probably results from the very low content and variation of Fe2+ in crustal silicates, such that reflectance is controlled instead by one or more minor opaque phases and the extent of space weathering.

Hydrogen atoms in the inner heliosphere: SWAN‐SOHO and MASCS‐MESSENGER observations

AbstractWe present here a study made by two instruments, Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) on MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) and Solar Wind Anisotropy (SWAN) on SOHO that observed the interplanetary background in 2010. The combination of these two data sets allows us to perform the first study of the distribution of hydrogen atoms inside the Earth's orbit. Triangulation of the position of the maximum emissivity region (MER) was performed for the data of the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS) channel of the MASCS‐MESSENGER instrument. We find that the ecliptic longitude of the MER is 253.2°±2.0°. This is the same value that was found from the analysis of the SWAN‐SOHO H cell data obtained in 1996. This strongly suggests that the direction of the interstellar hydrogen wind has not changed between 1996 and 2010. We have also determined the distance of the MER to the Sun. We find that the volume emission rate peaks at 2.37 AU ± 0.2 AU from the Sun. This value is a good test for the solar parameters for total H ionization and radiation pressure used in models. Comparison between the two data sets obtained by the UVVS‐MASCS channel and SWAN on SOHO allow to derive the intensity between the two spacecraft at peak emission. Based on the SWAN‐SOHO calibration, we find an intensity of 80 R ± 36 R. This corresponds to a column density of 1540 m−3 AU × 2.3 ×1014m−2. When divided by the distance between the two spacecraft, we find an average number density of 2300 m−3.

The low-iron, reduced surface of Mercury as seen in spectral reflectance by MESSENGER

The MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) obtained more than 1.6million reflectance spectra of Mercury’s surface from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths during the first year of orbital operations. A global analysis of spectra in the wavelength range 300–1450nm shows little regional variation in absolute reflectance or spectral slopes and a lack of mineralogically diagnostic absorptions. In particular, reflectance spectra show no clear evidence for an absorption band centered near 1μm that would be associated with the presence of ferrous iron in silicates. There is, however, evidence for an ultraviolet absorption possibly consistent with a very low iron content (2–3wt% FeO or less) in surface silicates and for the presence of small amounts of metallic iron or other opaque minerals in the form of nano- or micrometer-sized particles. These findings are consistent with MESSENGER X-ray and gamma-ray measurements of Mercury’s surface iron abundance. Although X-ray and gamma-ray observations indicate higher than expected quantities of sulfur on the surface, reflectance spectra show no absorption bands diagnostic of sulfide minerals. Whereas there is strong evidence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters near Mercury’s poles, MASCS spectra provide no evidence for hydroxylated materials near permanently shadowed craters.

A Wet and Volatile Mercury

Observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft are revealing details of Mercury's dynamic atmosphere. [Also see Reports by Lawrence et al. , Neumann et al. , and Paige et al. ]

MESSENGER at Mercury: Early orbital operations

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, launched in August 2004 under NASA's Discovery Program, was inserted into orbit about the planet Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER's three flybys of Mercury in 2008–2009 marked the first spacecraft visits to the innermost planet since the Mariner 10 flybys in 1974–1975. The unprecedented orbital operations are yielding new insights into the nature and evolution of Mercury. The scientific questions that frame the MESSENGER mission led to the mission measurement objectives to be achieved by the seven payload instruments and the radio science experiment. Interweaving the full set of required orbital observations in a manner that maximizes the opportunity to satisfy all mission objectives and yet meet stringent spacecraft pointing and thermal constraints was a complex optimization problem that was solved with a software tool that simulates science observations and tracks progress toward meeting each objective. The final orbital observation plan, the outcome of that optimization process, meets all mission objectives. MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System is acquiring a global monochromatic image mosaic at better than 90% coverage and at least 250m average resolution, a global color image mosaic at better than 90% coverage and at least 1km average resolution, and global stereo imaging at better than 80% coverage and at least 250m average resolution. Higher-resolution images are also being acquired of targeted areas. The elemental remote sensing instruments, including the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer and the X-Ray Spectrometer, are being operated nearly continuously and will establish the average surface abundances of most major elements. The Visible and Infrared Spectrograph channel of MESSENGER's Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer is acquiring a global map of spectral reflectance from 300 to 1450nm wavelength at a range of incidence and emission angles. Targeted areas have been selected for spectral coverage into the ultraviolet with the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS). MESSENGER's Mercury Laser Altimeter is acquiring topographic profiles when the slant range to Mercury's surface is less than 1800km, encompassing latitudes from 20°S to the north pole. Topography over the remainder of the southern hemisphere will be derived from stereo imaging, radio occultations, and limb profiles. MESSENGER's radio science experiment is determining Mercury's gravity field from Doppler signals acquired during frequent downlinks. MESSENGER's Magnetometer is measuring the vector magnetic field both within Mercury's magnetosphere and in Mercury's solar wind environment at an instrument sampling rate of up to 20 samples/s. The UVVS is determining the three-dimensional, time-dependent distribution of Mercury's exospheric neutral and ionic species via their emission lines. During each spacecraft orbit, the Energetic Particle Spectrometer measures energetic electrons and ions, and the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer measures the energies and mass per charge of thermal plasma components, both within Mercury's magnetosphere and in Mercury's solar-wind environment. The primary mission observation sequence will continue for one Earth year, until March 2012. An extended mission, currently under discussion with NASA, would add a second year of orbital observations targeting a set of focused follow-on questions that build on observations to date and take advantage of the more active Sun expected during 2012–2013. MESSENGER's total primary mission cost, projected at $446M in real-year dollars, is comparable to that of Mariner 10 after adjustment for inflation.

Optical and Electrical Studies of the Double Acceptor Levels of the Mercury Vacancies in HgCdTe

Correlations between photoluminescence and temperature-dependent Hall measurements were carried out on unintentionally doped HgCdTe epilayers with cadmium composition of 32.7%. These films were grown by liquid-phase epitaxy and post-annealed under different conditions as follows: a p-type annealing was used to control the mercury vacancy concentration, and an n-type annealing under saturated mercury atmosphere was used to fill the mercury vacancies. Comparison of the results obtained by these two characterization techniques allowed us to identify the two acceptor energy levels of the mercury vacancy. Moreover, the “U-negativity” of the vacancy was evidenced: the ionized state V− is stabilized under the neutral state V0 by the dominance of the Jahn–Teller effect over Coulombic repulsion. Finally, three epilayers with different cadmium compositions were also characterized to complete this study.

Escape rates and variability constraints for high‐energy sodium sources at Mercury

We present a 3‐D time‐dependent modeling of Mercury's extended sodium exosphere in the region of the distant tail. Recent simulations in support of the MESSENGER and BepiColombo missions have shown spatial distributions in Mercury's exosphere can be linked to specific source processes. Our model builds upon these efforts by concentrating on the escaping component of Mercury's surface‐bound exosphere to assess the wide‐field (7°) data described in the studies by Baumgardner et al. (2008) and Schmidt et al. (2010). Escape rates of several source processes in Mercury's exosphere are determined, and the effects of orbital motion, surface‐gas interactions, variable source rates, and spatially heterogeneous sources are explored. Our simulations demonstrate that both photon‐stimulated desorption and micrometeoroid impacts can result in a ∼20% loss of Mercury's sodium atmosphere, depending on orbital phase, and are jointly responsible for the observed comet‐like tail as driven by solar radiation pressure. For a constant supply of both these sources into the exosphere, the modeled average column density over Mercury's disc decreases by ∼1/3 at 70° true anomaly (the orbital position for peak escape), consistent with observations over many orbits.

Hg0.8Re0.2Ba2Ca2Cu 3O8.8 thick film produced by Laser Ablation

This paper describes the development of Hg0.8Re0.2Ba2Ca2Cu 3O8.8 thick film prepared with a precursor Ba2Ca2Cu3O5+d thick film, which was layered by Laser Ablation technique on PrBa2Cu3O7 substrate. The precursor thick film was thermally treated under mercury atmosphere using an encapsulate quartz tube technique. DC critical current measurements below T C determined the thick film superconductor current critical density as a function of temperature. The general behavior of the critical current density as a function of temperature confirms that the (Hg,Re)-1223 thick film has junctions type classified as superconducting-insulate-superconducting (SIS). After the critical current test the superconductor thick film has not shown any degradation or stoichiometry loss and its critical temperature has not changed after the test. Taken into account the critical current value of thick film as compared with the bulk sample, it was suggested that the procedure described here can be applied to build most electronic-type applications based on (Hg,Re)-1223 ceramic thick film.

Laboratory studies on the sputtering contribution to the sodium atmospheres of Mercury and the Moon

To ascertain the importance of sputtering by solar wind ions on the formation of a sodium exosphere around Mercury and the Moon, we have irradiated with 4 keV He ions, the Na bearing tectosilicates: albite, labradorite, and anorthoclase, as well as adsorbed Na layers deposited on albite and on olivine (a neosilicate that does not contain Na). Sodium at the surface and near surface (<40 Å) was quantified with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after each irradiation to determine the depletion cross section. We measured a cross section for sputtering of Na adsorbed on mineral surfaces, σ s ≈ 1 × 10 −15 cm 2 atom −1. In addition, mass spectrometric analyses of the sputtered flux show that a large fraction of the Na is sputtered as ions rather than as neutral atoms. These results have strong implications for modeling the sodium population within the mercurian and the lunar exospheres.

Mercury exosphere I. Global circulation model of its sodium component

Our understanding of Mercury’s sodium exosphere has improved considerably in the last 5 years thanks to new observations (Schleicher, H., Wiedemann, G., Wöhl, H., Berkefeld, T., Soltau, D. [2004]. Astron. Astrophys. 425, 1119–1124) and to the publication of a summary of the large set of ground based observations (Potter, A.E., Killen, R.M., Morgan, T.H. [2007]. Icarus 186, 571–580; Potter, A.E., Killen, R.M. [2008]. Icarus 194, 1–12; Potter et al., 2009). In particular, the non-uniformity in longitude of the dayside sodium distribution (the dawn/dusk asymmetry) has now been clearly observed. This suggests that Mercury’s sodium exosphere is partly driven by a global day to nightside migration of the volatiles. One of the key questions remaining is the nature of the prevailing sodium ejection mechanisms. Because of the uncertain parameters for each ejection mechanisms, solving this problem has been difficult as indicated by the numerous papers over the last 15 years with very different conclusions. In addition, the variation of the size and of the spatial distribution of the surface reservoir (Leblanc, F., Johnson, R.E. [2003]. Icarus 164, 261–281) varies with distance from the Sun affecting the importance of each ejection mechanism on Mercury’s orbital position. We here present an updated version of the Leblanc and Johnson (Leblanc, F., Johnson, R.E. [2003]. Icarus 164, 261–281) model. We take into account the two populations of sodium in the surface reservoir (Hunten, D.M., Morgan, T.M., Shemansky, D.M. [1988]. The Mercury atmosphere. In: Vilas, F., Chapman, C., Matthews, M. (Eds.), Mercury. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 562–612), one ambient population (physisorbed in the regolith with low binding energy) and one source population (chemisorbed coming from grain interior or from fresh dust brought to the surface and characterized by a higher binding energy). We also incorporate a better description of the solar wind sputtering variation with solar conditions. The results of a large number of simulations of the sodium exosphere are compared with the measured annual cycle of Mercury sodium emission brightness. These measurements were obtained from the published data by Potter et al. (Potter, A.E., Killen, R.M., Morgan, T.H. [2007]. Icarus 186, 571–580) as well as from our own data obtained during the last 2 years using THEMIS solar telescope. These data show that: the annual cycle in the emission brightness is roughly the same from 1 year to another; there are significant discrepancies between what would be observed if the exospheric content were constant; and the annual cycle of Mercury’s sodium exosphere strongly depends on its position in its orbit so that there are seasons in Mercury’s exosphere. Based on these comparisons we derived the principal signatures for each ejection mechanism during a Mercury year and show that none of the ejection mechanisms dominates over the whole year. Rather, particular features of the annual cycle of the sodium intensity appear to be induced by one, temporarily dominant, ejection mechanism. Based on this analysis, we are able to roughly explain the annual cycle of Mercury’s exospheric sodium emission brightness. We also derive a set of parameters defining those ejection mechanisms which best reproduce this cycle. For our best case, Mercury’s exosphere content varies from ∼1.6 ± 0.1 × 10 28 Na atoms at TAA = 140° and 70° respectively to ∼4.5 ± 0.3 × 10 28 Na atoms at TAA = 180° and 0°. In addition, Mercury’s exospheric surface reservoir contains ∼1 × 10 31 Na atoms at TAA = 300° and at TAA = 170° with up to three times more sodium atoms trapped in Mercury’s nightside than in its dayside surface.

Interplanetary dust distribution and temporal variability of Mercury's atmospheric Na

The interplanetary dust (IPD) distribution in the inner solar system is not yet well understood because of lack of direct dust measurements in the inner solar system and so one needs to rely on zodiacal light observations that are difficult to interpret. Mercury has an unstable atmosphere, and the source processes of Na in its atmosphere are unclear. Results of past observations have revealed that the atmospheric Na density has no or low correlation with the solar flux, sunspot number, heliocentric distance, or solar radiation pressure. We show that the variability of Mercury's atmospheric Na density depends strongly on the IPD distribution. That is, Na density is low (high) when Mercury is far away from (close to) the symmetry plane of IPD, and so one can infer the IPD distribution near Mercury orbit from the temporal variability of Na density in Mercury's atmosphere.

Investigation of local time dependence of Mercury's sodium exosphere based on a numerical simulation

Mercury has a surface-bounded exosphere (SBE) similar to that of the Moon. One of the atmospheric species, sodium, was found by ground-based observations to be the most prominent component. Mercury's sodium SBE is known to be non-uniform with respect to local time (LT) in low-latitude regions: the sodium column density in the dawn-side region is larger than that in the dusk-side region, and the sodium abundance is the largest in the morning–noon region. To reveal the production processes for the exosphere near Mercury's surface, the LT dependence of the exosphere was investigated through a numerical simulation. Three data sets of sodium column densities observed for the dawn-side hemisphere, observed by Sprague et al. [1997. Distribution and abundance of sodium in Mercury's atmosphere, 1985–1988. Icarus 12, 506–527], were compared with results simulated by a 3D Monte Carlo method, and the source rates and density of sodium of the planetary surface were estimated. In the simulation, the photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) and thermal desorption (TD) processes were assumed as the release mechanisms. The sodium source rates for the three data sets, at respective heliocentric distances of about 0.33, 0.42, and 0.44 AU, were estimated as 1–4×10 8 Na/cm 2/s with weak LT dependence. In contrast, the expected sodium surface density showed clear dependence on LT and the heliocentric distance. The sodium surface density decreases from early morning to noon by a few orders, and, particularly for large heliocentric distances, the surface is in a condition of sodium excess and depletion with respect to the surface sodium density assumed by Killen et al. [2004. Source rates and ion recycling rates for Na and K in Mercury's atmosphere. Icarus 171, 1–19] in the early morning and morning–noon regions, respectively. This study implies that the decrease in sodium surface density from the early morning to noon regions might produce the characteristic LT dependence in the low-latitude dawn-side region.

A surface thermal model and exospheric ballistic transport code of planet Mercury

The atmosphere of Mercury is of an exospheric nature. Its formation is due to several physical mechanisms including meteoroid impact, surface sputtering by solar wind ions and photon sputtering by solar UV radiation. The molecules and atoms emitted from the surface materials of Mercury include H, He, O, Ar, and S, etc. It is important to study their spatial distributions across the planetary surface via ballistic random walk. We have developed a surface thermal model coupled with Hodges-type Monte Carlo calculations to simulate the exosphere of Mercury, which will be a major scientific target of the BepiColombo mission of ESA and JAXA.

Luhmann Receives 2007 John Adam Fleming Medal

This year's John Adam Fleming medalist quickly established a reputation as an innovative and productive scientist with a broad range of interests. She made early and seminal contributions to aeronomy, cosmic rays, and magnetospheric and planetary physics. She contributed importantly to the understanding of the interaction of the solar wind with the atmosphere and magnetic fields of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. She has examined the behavior of planetary rings, the interaction of interstellar neutrals with heliospheric plasmas, as well as the interaction of planetary neutrals with the heliosphere. She has led in the study of the interaction of the moon Titan with the Saturn magnetosphere, and most recently she developed a vigorous solar physics effort, leading the implementation of the IMPACT particle and field package on the twin STEREO mission, now entering its second year of successful operation.