A wind origin for Titan's haze structure

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen with a surface pressure of 1.5 atmospheres and a temperature of 95 K (ref. 1). A seasonally varying haze, which appears to be the main source of heating an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2002-08, Vol.418 (6900), p.853-856
Main Authors: Rannou, P, Hourdin, F, McKay, C. P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Atmosphere
Atmospheric circulation
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Haze
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Moon
Moons
multidisciplinary
Neutral atmospheres
Planetary, asteroid, and satellite characteristics and properties
Planets, their satellites and rings. Asteroids
Saturn
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sciences of the Universe
Simulation
Solar system
Upper atmosphere
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Summary:Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen with a surface pressure of 1.5 atmospheres and a temperature of 95 K (ref. 1). A seasonally varying haze, which appears to be the main source of heating and cooling that drives atmospheric circulation, shrouds the moon. The haze has numerous features that have remained unexplained. There are several layers, including a 'polar hood', and a pronounced hemispheric asymmetry. The upper atmosphere rotates much faster than the surface of the moon, and there is a significant latitudinal temperature asymmetry at the equinoxes. Here we describe a numerical simulation of Titan's atmosphere, which appears to explain the observed features of the haze. The critical new factor in our model is the coupling of haze formation with atmospheric dynamics, which includes a component of strong positive feedback between the haze and the winds.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/nature00961