title: Venus winds are zonal and retrograde below the clouds.
abstract: Winds in the lower atmosphere of Venus, inferred from three-dimensional radio interferometric tracking of the descents of the Pioneer day and north probes, are predominantly easterly with speeds of about 1 meter per second near the surface, 50 meters per second at the bottom of the clouds, and more than 200 meters per second within the densest, middle cloud layer. Between about 25 and 55 kilometers altitude the average flow was slanted equatorward, with superimposed wavelike motions and alternating layers of high and low shear.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Counselman
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Gourevitch
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Loriot
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Prinn