Using schumann resonance measurements for constraining the water abundance on the giant planets - Implications for the solar system's formation

Fernando Simões, Robert Pfaff, Michel Hamelin, Jeffrey Klenzing, Henry Freudenreich, Christian Béghin, Jean Jacques Berthelier, Kenneth Bromund, Rejean Grard, Jean Pierre Lebreton, Steven Martin, Douglas Rowland, Davis Sentman, Yukihiro Takahashi, Yoav Yair

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The formation and evolution of the solar system is closely related to the abundance of volatiles, namely water, ammonia, and methane in the protoplanetary disk. Accurate measurement of volatiles in the solar system is therefore important for understanding not only the nebular hypothesis and origin of life but also planetary cosmogony as a whole. In this work, we propose a new remote sensing technique to infer the outer planets' water content by measuring Tremendously and Extremely Low Frequency (TLF-ELF) electromagnetic wave characteristics (Schumann resonances) excited by lightning in their gaseous envelopes. Schumann resonance detection can be potentially used for constraining the uncertainty of volatiles of the giant planets, mainly Uranus and Neptune, because such TLF-ELF wave signatures are closely related to the electric conductivity profile and water content.

Original languageEnglish
Article number85
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume750
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2012

Keywords

  • planets and satellites: composition
  • planets and satellites: formation
  • planets and satellites: physical evolution
  • protoplanetary disks
  • space vehicles: instruments
  • waves

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