Summary: | <strong>Context.</strong> The detection of sulphur species in the Martian atmosphere would be a strong indicator of volcanic outgassing from the surface of Mars.
<br><strong>
Aims. </strong>We wish to establish the presence of SO2, H2S, or OCS in the Martian atmosphere or determine upper limits on their concentration in the absence of a detection.
<br><strong>
Methods. </strong>We perform a comprehensive analysis of solar occultation data from the mid-infrared channel of the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite instrument, on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, obtained during Martian years 34 and 35.
<br><strong>
Results. </strong>For the most optimal sensitivity conditions, we determine 1σ upper limits of SO2 at 20 ppbv, H2S at 15 ppbv, and OCS at 0.4 ppbv; the last value is lower than any previous upper limits imposed on OCS in the literature. We find no evidence of any of these species above a 3σ confidence threshold. We therefore infer that passive volcanic outgassing of SO2 must be below 2 ktons day−1.
|