Overview
Venus and Earth are generally regarded as sister planets because Venus is the planet with mass, size, and mean density closest to that of the Earth (see Table A6). Cosmochemical and geochemical models also suggest that Venus’ bulk composition is similar to that of the Earth (Lodders and Fegley, 1998; Tables 5.8 and 5.9). Despite these broad similarities, Venus’ atmosphere is dramatically different from that of the Earth. These differences are primarily due to Venus’ depletion in water relative to the Earth. As discussed below, Venus may either have formed “dry,” or may have formed “wet” and subsequently lost most of its water. A choice between these two alternatives is impossible at present and there are arguments for and against both models (Lewis and Prinn, 1984; Yung and DeMore, 1999).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Ahrens, T.J., 1993. Impact erosion of terrestrial planetary atmospheres. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 21, 525–555.
Barsukov, V.L., Basilevsky, A.T., Volkov, V.P., and Zharkov, V.N. (eds.), 1992. Venus Geology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 421pp.
Bézard, B., DeBergh, C., Fegley, B., Maillard, J.P., Crisp, D., Owen, T., Pollack, J.B., and Grinspoon, D., 1993. The abundance of sulfur dioxide below the clouds of Venus. Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 1587–1590.
Bougher, S.W., Hunten, D.M., and Phillips, R.J. (eds.), 1997. Venus II. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1362pp.
Brown, H., 1949. Rare gases and the formation of the Earth’s atmosphere. In Kuiper, G.P. (ed.), The Atmospheres of the Earth and Planets. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 260–268.
Bullock, M.A., and Grinspoon, D.H., 2001. The recent evolution of climate on Venus. Icarus, 150, 19–37.
Cameron, A.G.W., 1995. The first ten million years in the solar nebula. Meteoritics, 30, 133–161.
Chamberlain, J.W., and Hunten, D.M., 1987. Theory of Planetary Atmospheres. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 481pp.
Charlson, R.J., Anderson, T.L., and McDuff, R.E., 1992. The sulfur cycle. In Butcher, S.S., Charlson, R.J., Orians, G.H., and Wolfe, G.V. (eds.), Global Biogeochemical Cycles. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 285–300.
Donahue, T.M., Grinspoon, D.H., Hartle, R.E., and Hodges, R.R. Jr., 1997. Ion/neutral escape of hydrogen and deuterium: Evolution of water. In Bougher, S.W., Hunten, D.M., and Phillips, R.J. (eds)., Venus II, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, pp. 385–414.
Fegley, B. Jr., 2000. Kinetics of gas-grain reactions in the solar nebula. Space Sci. Rev., 92, 177–200.
Fegley, B. Jr., 2004. Venus, In Davis, A.M. (ed)., Meteorites, Comets, and Planets. Holland, H.D., and Turekian, K.K. (eds.), Treatise on Geochemistry, vol. 1, Oxford, England: Elsevier-Pergamon, pp. 487–507.
Hunten, D.M., Colin, L., Donahue, T.M., and Moroz, V.I. (eds.), 1983. Venus. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1143pp.
Ingersoll, A.P., 1969. The runaway greenhouse: A history of water on Venus. J. Atmos. Sci., 26, 1191–1198.
Irvine, W.M., Schloerb, F.P., Crovisier, J., Fegley, B. Jr., and Mumma, M.J., 2000. Comets: A link between interstellar and nebular chemistry. In Mannings, V., Boss, A.P., and Russell, S.S. (eds.), Protostars and Planets IV. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, pp. 1159–1200.
Johnson, N.M., and Fegley, B. Jr., 2003. Tremolite decomposition on Venus II. Products, kinetics, mechanism. Icarus, 164, 317–333.
Kargel, J.S., Komatsu, G., Baker, V.R., and Strom, R.G., 1993. The volcanology of Venera and VEGA landing sites and the geochemistry of Venus. Icarus, 103, 253–275.
Kargel, J.S., Kirk, R.L., Fegley, B. Jr., and Treiman, A., 1994. Carbonate-sulfate volcanism on Venus? Icarus, 112, 219–252.
Kaula, W.M., 1999. Constraints on Venus evolution from radiogenic argon. Icarus, 139, 32–39.
Kerridge, J., and Matthews, M.S. (eds.), 1988. Meteorites and the Early Solar System. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1269pp.
Kleine, T., Münker, C., Mezger, K., and Palme, H., 2002. Rapid accretion and early core formation on asteroids and terrestrial planets from Hf-W chronometry. Nature, 418, 952–955.
Krasnopolsky, V.A., 1986. Photochemistry of the Atmospheres of Mars and Venus. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 334pp.
Lewis, J.S., 1974. Volatile element influx on Venus from cometary impacts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 22, 239–244.
Lewis, J.S., and Prinn, R.G., 1984. Planets and Their Atmospheres: Origin and Evolution. New York, NY: Academic Press, 470pp.
Lodders, K., 2003. Solar system abundances and condensation temperatures of the elements. Astrophys. J., 591, 1220–1247.
Lodders, K., and Fegley, B. Jr., 1997. An oxygen isotope model for the composition of Mars. Icarus, 126, 373–394.
Lodders, K., and Fegley, B. Jr., 1998. The Planetary Scientist’s Companion. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 371pp.
Matsui, T., and Abe, Y., 1986. Impact-induced atmospheres and oceans on Earth and Venus. Nature, 322, 526–528.
Morgan, J.W., and Anders, E., 1980. Chemical composition of the Earth, Venus, and Mercury. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 77, 6973–6977.
Ozima, M., and Podosek, F.A., 2002. Noble Gas Geochemistry, 2nd ed. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 286pp.
Pepin, R.O., and Porcelli, D., 2002. Origin of noble gases in the terrestrial planets. In Porcelli, D., Ballentine, C.J., and Wieler, R. (eds.), Noble Gases in Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Washington, D.C.: Mineralogical Society of America, pp. 191–246.
Pollack, J.B., 1991. Kuiper Prize Lecture: Present and past climates of the terrestrial planets. Icarus, 91, 173–198.
Prinn, R.G., and Fegley, B. Jr., 1987. The atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars: A critical comparison. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 15, 171–212.
Rasool, S.I., and DeBergh, C., 1970. The runaway greenhouse and the accumulation of CO2 in the Venus atmosphere. Nature, 226, 1037–1039.
Shirley, J.H., and Fairbridge, R.W. (eds.), 1997 Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences. London, England: Chapman & Hall, 990 pp.
von Zahn, V., Kumar, S., Niemann, H., and Prinn, R., 1983. Composition of the Venus atmosphere. In Hunten, D.M., Colin, L., Donahue, T.M., and Moroz, V.I. (eds.), Venus. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, pp. 299–430.
Warneck, P., 1988. Chemistry of the Natural Atmosphere. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 757pp.
Weidenschilling, S.J., 1976. Accretion of the terrestrial planets II. Icarus, 27, 161–170.
Wetherill, G.W., 1980. Formation of the terrestrial planets. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys., 18, 77–113.
Yin, Q., Jacobsen, S.B., Yamashita, K., Blichert-Toft, J., Télouk, P., and Albarède, F., 2002. A short timescale for terrestrial planet formation from Hf-W chronometry of meteorites. Nature, 418, 949–952.
Yung, Y.L., and DeMore, W.B., 1999. Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 456pp.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag
About this entry
Cite this entry
Fegley, B. (2009). Atmospheric Evolution, Venus. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4551-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4411-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences