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Variability in Titan's Mesospheric HCN and Temperature Structure as Observed by ALMA by Thelen, A. E.; Nixon, C. A.; Cosentino, R.; Cordiner, M. A.; Teanby, N. A.; Newman, C. E.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Charnley, S. B. is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Variability in Titan's Mesospheric HCN and Temperature Structure as Observed by ALMA about?

The temperature structure of Titan's upper atmosphere exhibits large variability resulting from numerous spatially and temporally irregular external energy sources, seasonal changes, and the influence of molecular species produced via photochemistry. In particular, Titan's relatively abundant HCN is thought to provide substantial cooling to the upper atmosphere through rotational emission, balancing UV/EUV heating and thermal conduction. Here, we present the analysis of ALMA observations of Titan from 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017, corresponding to planetocentric solar longitudes of ~34-89$^{\circ}$, including vertical HCN and temperature profiles retrieved from the lower mesosphere through the thermosphere (~350-1200 km; $3\times10^{-2}$-$2\times10^{-8}$ mbar). Throughout the atmosphere, temperature profiles differ by 10 to 30 K between observations approximately one Earth year apart, particularly from 600-900 km. We find evidence for a large imbalance in Titan's upper atmospheric energy budget between 2014 and 2015, where the mesospheric thermal structure changes significantly and marks the transition between a mesopause located at ~600 km ($2\times10^{-4}$ mbar) and at ~800 km ($3\

Author

Thelen, A. E.; Nixon, C. A.; Cosentino, R.; Cordiner, M. A.; Teanby, N. A.; Newman, C. E.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Charnley, S. B.

Published

2024

Language

EN