Titan's Atmospheric Temperatures, Winds, and Composition
Michael Flasar
(1)
,
Richard K. Achterberg
(2)
,
Barney J. Conrath
(3)
,
Peter J. Gierasch
(3)
,
Virgil G. Kunde
(4)
,
Conor A. Nixon
(4)
,
Gordon L. Bjoraker
(1)
,
Donald E. Jennings
(1)
,
Paul N. Romani
(1)
,
Amy A. Simon-Miller
(1)
,
Bruno Bézard
(5, 6, 7)
,
Athéna Coustenis
(5, 6, 7)
,
Patrick G. J. Irwin
(8)
,
Nicholas A. Teanby
(8)
,
J. Brasunas
(1)
,
John C. Pearl
(1)
,
M. E. Segura
(9)
,
Ronald C. Carlson
(2)
,
Andrei Mamoutkine
(2)
,
P. J. Schinder
(3)
,
Maria Antonella Barucci
(5, 6, 7)
,
Régis Courtin
(5, 6, 7)
,
Thierry Fouchet
(5, 6, 7)
,
Daniel Gautier
(5, 6, 7)
,
Emmanuel Lellouch
(5, 6, 7)
,
André Marten
(5, 6, 7)
,
Renée Prangé
(5, 6, 7)
,
Sandrine Vinatier
(5, 6, 7)
,
Darell Strobel
(10, 5, 6, 7)
,
Simon B. Calcutt
(8)
,
Peter L. Read
(8)
,
Frederic W. Taylor
(8)
,
N. Bowles
(8)
,
Robert E. Samuelson
(4)
,
Glenn S. Orton
(11)
,
Linda J. Spilker
(11)
,
Tobias C. Owen
(12)
,
John R. Spencer
(13)
,
Mark R. Showalter
(14)
,
C. Ferrari
(15)
,
Mian M. Abbas
(16)
,
François Raulin
(17)
,
Scott G. Edgington
(11)
,
Peter A. Ade
(18)
,
E. H. Wishnow
(19)
1
GSFC -
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2 Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham
3 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University
4 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland
5 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
6 Physique des plasmas
7 Pôle Planétologie du LESIA
8 AOPP - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics [Oxford]
9 QSS Group
10 Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Johns Hopkins University
11 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
12 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii
13 Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute
14 SETI - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute
15 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
16 Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
17 LISA (UMR_7583) - Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques
18 Cardiff University
19 LLNL - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
2 Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham
3 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University
4 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland
5 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
6 Physique des plasmas
7 Pôle Planétologie du LESIA
8 AOPP - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics [Oxford]
9 QSS Group
10 Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Johns Hopkins University
11 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
12 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii
13 Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute
14 SETI - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute
15 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
16 Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
17 LISA (UMR_7583) - Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques
18 Cardiff University
19 LLNL - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Thierry Fouchet
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 756578
- ORCID : 0000-0001-9040-8285
- IdRef : 089352556
C. Ferrari
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1111568
- IdHAL : cecile-ferrari
- ORCID : 0000-0001-5962-7439
Résumé
Temperatures obtained from early Cassini infrared observations of Titan show a stratopause at an altitude of 310 kilometers (and 186 kelvin at 15°S). Stratospheric temperatures are coldest in the winter northern hemisphere, with zonal winds reaching 160 meters per second. The concentrations of several stratospheric organic compounds are enhanced at mid- and high northern latitudes, and the strong zonal winds may inhibit mixing between these latitudes and the rest of Titan. Above the south pole, temperatures in the stratosphere are 4 to 5 kelvin cooler than at the equator. The stratospheric mole fractions of methane and carbon monoxide are (1.6 +/- 0.5) × 10-2 and (4.5 +/- 1.5) × 10-5, respectively.