![Instantaneous zonally-averaged vertical cross-section of H2S (left) and HS (right). The black contour on the left panel corresponds to the bottom and top altitudes of the clouds (Ignatiev et al., 2009; Titov et al., 2018).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/The-impact.png?fit=1200%2C527&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] Venus is home to vivid sulfur chemistry, with SO2 as the major sulfur gas species and a global cloud layer between 47 and~70 km composed of H2SO4 and H2O. The chemistry in the clouds has been extensively studied with 1D models, but none is able to reproduce the three orders of magnitude decrease of SO2 inside the clouds.
Sulfur allotrope chemistry could be a candidate for buffering sulfur atoms, as it can grow into long chains. Sulfur hydrides such as H2S is considered as one of the main sulfur-bearing compounds, possibly linked to surface reactions or have a volcanic origin like on Earth.
In this study, we use for the first time a 3D model to study the climatology of the sulfur allotrope in gas and condensed phase and hydride chemistry in the clouds with an explicit photolysis calculation and updated UV cross-section. H2S is close to ppmv levels below the cloud base, the third most abundant sulfur-bearing species in this region after SO2 and OCS.
Below the clouds, S8 gas phase is the most abundant sulfur allotrope. Above, the photolysis and condensation are preponderant, and the gas phase decreases to extremely low values. Polysulfur can therefore not be the unknown absorber at cloud-top altitudes. The condensed phase polysulfurs are present from 30 to above 100~km.
S2 condensed phase is the most abundant due to its low saturation mixing ratios. Polysulfur species represent a substantial sulfur reservoir in the upper cloud, equivalent to a few ppmv.
Maxence Lefèvre, Franck Lefèvre, Anni Määttänen, Robert Skog, Benjamin Frandsen, Aurélien Stolzenbach, Ashwin Braude
Comments: 25 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2610.36979 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2610.36979v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.36979
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Journal reference: JGR: Planets, 131, e2025JE009523 (2026)
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009523
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Submission history
From: Maxence Lefèvre
[v1] Tue, 27 Oct 2026 10:32:46 UTC (1,333 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36979
Astrobiology,
