Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to re: Sunset?

Sulfuric acid breakdown
Adam — (archived)

Hi gb

The sulfuric acid turns back into SO2 and H2O at about 340 C - it doesn't persist as a steam, unlike water. Thus the global cloud banks are continually renewed from rising gases from below. If the clouds disappeared Venus would begin cooling (!) and approach ~600 K or so. Then sulfuric acid could rain on top of Maxwell Montes... except there would be none to rain down.

An alternative end state would be from draw-down of the CO2 - Mark Bullock's modelling suggests a 43 bar surface pressure and 400 K temperature, with the sulfuric acid forming dense, very white clouds close to the ground. Maxwell Montes would potentially be cool enough for human explorers then, though the pressure would be ~20 bar. That would only happen if the Urey reaction(s) had a chance to turn the gas into carbonates.

Venus is a complicated place.

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