The findings from\u00a0Lai et al<\/a>, published in AGU Advances <\/a>and further detailed by Eos<\/a>, provide an intriguing clue. A key factor in this atmospheric behavior is thermal tides\u2014patterns of air movement generated by the Sun heating Venus\u2019s surface. The study reveals that these thermal tides are a major factor in Venus\u2019s rapid atmospheric rotation, particularly the diurnal thermal tides that cycle once per Venusian day. This discovery shifts our understanding of the planet\u2019s atmospheric dynamics, highlighting a component that was previously underappreciated.<\/p>\n What Are Thermal Tides and How Do They Work?<\/p>\n Thermal tides are waves of atmospheric motion driven by the Sun\u2019s heating effect on a planet\u2019s surface. On Venus, these tidal movements play a pivotal role in redistributing heat and momentum across the atmosphere. When sunlight strikes the dayside of the planet, it heats the surface and causes the air to expand and move. This movement sets off a cycle of atmospheric waves, which can transport momentum, affecting the planet\u2019s overall rotation speed.<\/p>\n On Venus, thermal tides exist in two major forms: diurnal and semidiurnal tides. Diurnal tides follow a once-per-day cycle, while semidiurnal tides complete two cycles daily. While semidiurnal tides had long been thought to be the dominant force driving the superrotation, the new study suggests that diurnal tides may play a more significant role in the planet\u2019s extreme winds than previously understood.<\/p>\n This shift in focus toward diurnal tides is a breakthrough, offering a new perspective on the forces at work in Venus\u2019s upper atmosphere. As these tides carry momentum toward the cloud tops, they contribute directly to the acceleration of Venus\u2019s winds, which are among the fastest in the solar system.<\/p>\n The Role of Momentum Transport in Superrotation<\/p>\n At the heart of Venus\u2019s atmospheric phenomena is the concept of momentum transport. As the planet rotates slowly, with one complete spin taking 243 Earth days, the atmosphere spins much faster\u2014about 60 times quicker than the surface. This disparity creates the phenomenon of superrotation, where the atmosphere outpaces the planet\u2019s rotation in an almost continuous cycle.<\/p>\n The recent study highlights how thermal tides, particularly the diurnal tides, facilitate this momentum transport. By moving heated air toward the cloud tops, these tides inject energy into the upper atmosphere, helping to accelerate the winds. This constant momentum transfer sustains the superrotation, allowing it to maintain the planet\u2019s extreme wind speeds.<\/p>\n The study\u2019s use of data from the European Space Agency\u2019s Venus Express satellite and Japan\u2019s Akatsuki spacecraft was crucial in identifying the patterns of thermal tides. These spacecraft provided valuable insights by measuring the bending of radio waves as they passed through Venus\u2019s dense atmosphere. Combining this data with sophisticated atmospheric models, the research team has been able to map out how thermal tides influence Venus\u2019s meteorological behavior, offering a clearer picture of the planet\u2019s complex weather systems.<\/p>\n Implications for Understanding Other Slowly Rotating Planets<\/p>\n The implications of this research extend beyond Venus. While Venus is unique in its extreme winds and harsh conditions, many other planets in our solar system share characteristics that could make them susceptible to similar atmospheric phenomena. For example, Mars, which has a much thinner atmosphere, and even some of the gas giants, such as Jupiter, experience complex weather patterns that might be influenced by similar tidal effects.<\/p>\n Understanding how Venus\u2019s thermal tides drive its superrotation could provide valuable insights into the atmospheric dynamics of other planets. The study also highlights the importance of planetary waves, meridional circulation, and other atmospheric forces, which together create an intricate and often unpredictable system of weather. By studying Venus, scientists can refine models of planetary atmospheres, leading to a better understanding of weather patterns on distant worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venus, with its fiery surface and rapid atmospheric rotation, has always been a subject of fascination for scientists.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[85,46,141,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-159008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-121.png.webp.webp\")
Distribution and uncertainty of temperature profiles from radio science experiments of\u00a0Venus Express and Akatsuki. Panels (a)\u00a0and (b)\u00a0show the sampling locations (50\u201390\u00a0km) on topography and local time\u2013latitude maps. Panel (c)\u00a0shows retrieval uncertainties versus latitude; points with uncertainties below 1.0% (black dashed line) are used. (Lai et al.) <\/p>\n