Cassini results on Titan's atmospheric and surface properties changes since the northern equinox

• Main Authors: Coustenis, Athéna, Drossart, Pierre, Flasar, Michael, Achterberg, Richard K., Rodriguez, Sebastien, Nixon, Conor A., Bampasidis, Georgios, Solomonidou, Anezina, Jennings, Donald E., Lavvas, P.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pôle Planétologie du LESIA, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Department of Physics, University of Athens, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Planetary Systems Laboratory (NASA/GSFC), Groupe de spectrométrie moléculaire et atmosphérique (GSMA), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03743373

International audience Since 2010, we observe the set in and enhancement at Titan's south pole of several trace species, such as HC3N and C6H6, observed only at high northern latitudes before equinox. We will present an analysis of spectra acquired by Cassini/CIRS at high resolution from 2012 in nadir mode. We investigated here several latitudes of 70°S to 70°N since 2010 (after the Southern Autumnal Equinox) until end of 2014 [1]. For some of the most abundant and longest-lived hydrocarbons (C2H2, C2H6 and C3H8) and CO2, the evolution in the past 4 years at a given latitude is not very significant within error bars especially until mid-2013 [1]. In more recent dates, these molecules show a dramatic trend for increase in the south. The 70°S and 50°S or mid-latitudes show different behavior demonstrating that they are subject to different dynamical processes in and out of the polar vortex region. For most species, we find higher abundances at 50°N compared to 50°S, with the exception of C3H8, CO2, C6H6 and HC3N, which arrive at similar mixing ratios after mid-2013 [1]. While the 70°N data show generally no change with a trend rather to a small decrease for most species within 2014, the 70°S results indicate a strong enhancement in trace stratospheric gases after 2012. In particular, HC3N, HCN and C6H6 have increased by 3 orders of magnitude over the past 3-4 years while other molecules, including C2H4, C3H4 and C4H2, have increased less sharply (by 1-2 orders of magnitude). This is a strong indication of the rapid and sudden buildup of the gaseous inventory in the southern stratosphere during 2013-2014, as expected as the pole moves deeper into winter shadow. Subsidence gases that accumulate in the absence of ultraviolet sunlight, evidently increased quickly since 2012 and some of them may be responsible also for the reported haze decrease in the north and its appearance in the south at the same time [2]. Clearly Titan is a dynamic system with indications of short and long-term variations both in the atmosphere ...