Sulfur dioxide is a radiatively and chemically important trace gas in the atmosphere of Venus and its abundance at the cloud tops has been observed to vary on interannual to decadal timescales. This variability is thought to come from changes in the strength of convection which transports sulfur dioxide to the cloud tops, although the dynamics behind such convective variability are unknown. Here, we propose a new conceptual model for convective variability that links the radiative effects of water abundance at the cloud‐base to convective strength within the clouds, which in turn affects water transport within the cloud. The model consists of two coupled equations which are identified as a recharge‐discharge oscillator. The solutions of the coupled equations are finite amplitude sustained oscillations in convective strength and cloud‐base water abundance on 3–9 years timescales. The characteristic oscillation timescale is given by the geometric mean of the radiative cooling time and the eddy mixing time near the base of the convective clouds.

中文翻译：

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金星云的年际变化的充电振荡器模型

二氧化硫是金星大气中的一种辐射和化学上重要的痕量气体，据观察，其在云顶的丰度在年际至年代际尺度上变化。尽管这种对流变化背后的动力学机制尚不清楚，但这种变化被认为是由于对流强度的变化所致，该变化将二氧化硫输送到云顶。在这里，我们提出了一个新的对流变率概念模型，该模型将云底水丰度的辐射效应与云内的对流强度联系起来，进而影响云内的水传输。该模型由两个耦合方程组成，被识别为充放电振荡器。耦合方程的解是对流强度的有限振幅持续振荡和在3–9年时间尺度上的云基水丰度。特征振荡时标由对流云底附近的辐射冷却时间和涡流混合时间的几何平均值给出。