Titan's Atmospheric Temperatures, Winds, and Composition

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Flasar, F. M., Achterberg, R. K., Conrath, B. J., Gierasch, P. J., Kunde, V. G., Nixon, C. A., Bjoraker, G. L., Jennings, D. E., Romani, P. N., Simon-Miller, A. A., Bézard, B., Coustenis, A., Irwin, P. G. J., Teanby, N. A., Brasunas, J., Pearl, J. C., Segura, M. E., Carlson, R. C., Mamoutkine, A., Schinder, P. J., Barucci, A., Courtin, R., Fouchet, T., Gautier, D., Lellouch, E., Marten, A., Prangé, R., Vinatier, S., Strobel, D. F., Calcutt, S. B., Read, P. L., Taylor, F. W., Bowles, N., Samuelson, R. E., Orton, G. S., Spilker, L. J., Owen, T. C., Spencer, J. R., Showalter, M. R., Ferrari, C., Abbas, M. M., Raulin, F., Edgington, S., Ade, P., Wishnow, E. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2005
• Subjects: Multidisciplinary; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1111150; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1111150

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.