Search Publications
The solubility of 40Ar and 84Kr in liquid hydrocarbons: Implications for Titan's geological evolution
Sotin, Christophe; Choukroun, Mathieu; Hodyss, Robert +1 more
solubility of argon and krypton in methane and ethane has been experimentally determined at Titan-relevant temperatures. At typical Titan surface temperature (94 K), argon and krypton solubilities are very large (47% in methane and 15% in ethane for Ar, 29% in methane and 43% in ethane for Kr), making liquid alkanes on Titan an important potential…
Fluvial network analysis on Titan: Evidence for subsurface structures and west-to-east wind flow, southwestern Xanadu
Burr, Devon M.; Mitchell, Karl L.; Jacobsen, Robert E. +3 more
Data of Titan's surface from the Cassini-Huygens mission show inferred fluvial networks interpreted as products of liquid alkane flow. Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, we delineated drainage networks, measured network parameters, and used these measurements in a simplified algorithm for classifying terrestrial drainage patterns. The resu…
Structure of Titan's low altitude ionized layer from the Relaxation Probe onboard HUYGENS
Berthelier, J. J.; Rodrigo, R.; López-Moreno, J. J. +14 more
Some of the secrets of the atmosphere of Titan have been unveiled by the Huygens Probe. The Permitivity Wave and Altimetry system detected a hidden ionosphere much below the main ionosphere, that lies between 600 and 2000 km. Theoretical models predicted a low altitude ionosphere produced by cosmic rays that, contrary to magnetospheric particles a…
TRAMS: A new dynamic cloud model for Titan's methane clouds
Barth, Erika L.; Rafkin, Scot C. R.
Convective clouds on Titan may play an important role in climate dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and the overall volatile cycle. To study the formation and evolution of these clouds, we have developed the Titan Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (TRAMS). TRAMS is a three-dimensional, time-dependent, coupled fully compressible dynamic and microp…
Vertical atmospheric flow on Titan as measured by the HASI instrument on board the Huygens probe
Tokano, Tetsuya; Ferri, Francesca; Mäkinen, J. Teemu T. +3 more
On January 14, 2005, the Huygens probe descended on the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon in the Solar system with a substantial atmosphere. After the deployment of the main parachute and the release of the heat shield at an altitude of about 150 km, the local pressure and temperature were measured by HASI (Huygens Atm…
Titan's stratospheric zonal wind, temperature, and ethane abundance a year prior to Huygens insertion
Sonnabend, G.; Kostiuk, T.; Murakawa, K. +7 more
Saturn's satellite, Titan, may have stratospheric winds up to ~210 m/s, circling Titan in ~1 terrestrial day compared to its 16-day rotation. Theoretical models explaining such super-rotating winds are not well constrained by observations of Titan or a similar slow rotator, Venus. We report measurements taken in December 2003 of zonal wind near Ti…
Chemical composition of Titan's haze: Are PAHs present?
McKay, Christopher P.; Toon, Owen B.; Trainer, Melissa G. +4 more
Previous laboratory studies of haze aerosols analogous to those in Titan's atmosphere have shown evidence of the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). If present, PAHs may provide a mechanism for both particle formation and nitrogen incorporation. We have conducted new experiments simulating Titan haze production using an Aerosol M…
Direct measurement of winds on Titan
Fast, Kelly E.; Hewagama, Tilak; Kostiuk, Theodor +4 more
We report the first direct measurement of wind velocity in the atmosphere of Titan, one of only two examples in our solar system of a slowly-rotating body with a dense atmosphere and a prime target of the Cassini mission. Zonal wind velocity was determined from Doppler shift of ethane lines emitted from Titan's stratosphere (∼0.1-7 mbar) measured …
Influence of electrophilic species on the lower ionosphere of Titan
Rodrigo, R.; López-Moreno, J. J.; Molina-Cuberos, G. J.
The galactic cosmic rays induced ionosphere of Titan is studied from 0 to 70 km. We resent here a new model developed for calculating the concentration of cations, anions, and electrons depending on the mixing ratio of electrophilic species present in the atmosphere of Titan. The existence of neutral species in which electrons can be attached by t…