# Chemical Constraints on the Oxygen Abundances in Jupiter and Saturn

Source: [Chemical Constraints on the Oxygen Abundances in Jupiter and Saturn](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa2b631e209131ce846587>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-24T14:09:36.667Z

Authors: Dong Wang, Jonathan I. Lunine

Published: 2012-05-25T07:02:46.000Z

## Abstract

We perform a comparative analysis of the chemical kinetics of CO and $\\rm PH\_3$ in Jupiter and Saturn to assess the full set of constraints available on the troposphere water abundance in the two giant planets. For carbon monoxide we employ both a widely used CO kinetic scheme from Yung et al, and a newly identified CO chemical scheme from Visscher and Moses. For $\\rm PH\_3$ chemical scheme, we use the same chemical scheme as in Visscher and Fegley. Yung's chemical scheme for CO yields a water enrichment of 0.95 - 23.0 times solar abundance on Jupiter, and an upper limit of 14.0 for Saturn. Visscher's chemical scheme in contrast produces a water enrichment of 0.24 - 2.6 times solar abundance in Jupiter, and for Saturn an upper limit for water enrichment of 8.0. From this scheme, which takes advantage of the most up-to-date kinetics, we preclude high water enrichments on Jupiter and Saturn, and show that the kinetics approach yields Jovian bulk abundance in which values of C/O elevated relative to solar are admissible. Our result is consistent with recent reinterpretation of Galileo Probe data in which Jupiter formed in a water-depleted portion of the protoplanetary disk (Mousis et al).

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## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.5621>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/1205.5621.pdf>)
