Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles
We analyze spectra acquired by the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) at high resolution from October 2010 until September 2014 in nadir mode. Up until mid 2012, Titan's Northern atmosphere exhibited the enriched chemical content found since the Voyager days (November 1980), with a...
Published in: | Icarus |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2016
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/50705868/Icarus_Coustenis_2015_accepted.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960798590&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
id |
ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 2024-05-19T07:48:43+00:00 Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles Coustenis, Athena Jennings, Donald E. Achterberg, Richard K. Bampasidis, Georgios Lavvas, Panayiotis Nixon, Conor A. Teanby, Nicholas A. Anderson, Carrie M. Cottini, Valeria Flasar, F. Michael 2016-05-15 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1983/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/50705868/Icarus_Coustenis_2015_accepted.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960798590&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Coustenis , A , Jennings , D E , Achterberg , R K , Bampasidis , G , Lavvas , P , Nixon , C A , Teanby , N A , Anderson , C M , Cottini , V & Flasar , F M 2016 , ' Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles ' , Icarus , vol. 270 , pp. 409-420 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 Atmospheres composition evolution structure Satellites Titan atmosphere article 2016 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 2024-04-23T23:50:28Z We analyze spectra acquired by the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) at high resolution from October 2010 until September 2014 in nadir mode. Up until mid 2012, Titan's Northern atmosphere exhibited the enriched chemical content found since the Voyager days (November 1980), with a peak around the Northern Spring Equinox (NSE) in 2009. Since then, we have observed the appearance at Titan's south pole of several trace species for the first time, such as HC 3 N and C 6 H 6 , observed only at high northern latitudes before equinox. We investigate here latitudes poleward of 50°S and 50°N from 2010 (after the Southern Autumnal Equinox) until 2014. For some of the most abundant and longest-lived hydrocarbons (C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 6 and C 3 H 8 ) and CO 2 , the evolution in the past 4 years at a given latitude is not very significant within error bars especially until mid-2013. In more recent dates, these molecules show a trend for increase in the south. This trend is dramatically more pronounced for the other trace species, especially in 2013-2014, and at 70°S relative to 50°S. These two regions then demonstrate 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 C 3 H 8 , CO 2 , C 6 H 6 and HC 3 N, which arrive at similar mixing ratios after mid-2013. 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. The 663 cm -1 HC 3 N and the C 6 H 6 674 cm -1 emission bands appeared in late 2011/early 2012 in the south polar regions and have since then exhibited a dramatic increase in their abundances. At 70°S HC 3 N, HCN and C 6 H 6 have increased by 3 orders of magnitude over the past 3-4 years while other molecules, including C 2 H 4 , C 3 H 4 and C 4 H 2 , have increased less sharply (by 1-2 orders of magnitude). This is a strong ... Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole University of Bristol: Bristol Research Icarus 270 409 420 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
op_collection_id |
ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Atmospheres composition evolution structure Satellites Titan atmosphere |
spellingShingle |
Atmospheres composition evolution structure Satellites Titan atmosphere Coustenis, Athena Jennings, Donald E. Achterberg, Richard K. Bampasidis, Georgios Lavvas, Panayiotis Nixon, Conor A. Teanby, Nicholas A. Anderson, Carrie M. Cottini, Valeria Flasar, F. Michael Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
topic_facet |
Atmospheres composition evolution structure Satellites Titan atmosphere |
description |
We analyze spectra acquired by the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) at high resolution from October 2010 until September 2014 in nadir mode. Up until mid 2012, Titan's Northern atmosphere exhibited the enriched chemical content found since the Voyager days (November 1980), with a peak around the Northern Spring Equinox (NSE) in 2009. Since then, we have observed the appearance at Titan's south pole of several trace species for the first time, such as HC 3 N and C 6 H 6 , observed only at high northern latitudes before equinox. We investigate here latitudes poleward of 50°S and 50°N from 2010 (after the Southern Autumnal Equinox) until 2014. For some of the most abundant and longest-lived hydrocarbons (C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 6 and C 3 H 8 ) and CO 2 , the evolution in the past 4 years at a given latitude is not very significant within error bars especially until mid-2013. In more recent dates, these molecules show a trend for increase in the south. This trend is dramatically more pronounced for the other trace species, especially in 2013-2014, and at 70°S relative to 50°S. These two regions then demonstrate 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 C 3 H 8 , CO 2 , C 6 H 6 and HC 3 N, which arrive at similar mixing ratios after mid-2013. 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. The 663 cm -1 HC 3 N and the C 6 H 6 674 cm -1 emission bands appeared in late 2011/early 2012 in the south polar regions and have since then exhibited a dramatic increase in their abundances. At 70°S HC 3 N, HCN and C 6 H 6 have increased by 3 orders of magnitude over the past 3-4 years while other molecules, including C 2 H 4 , C 3 H 4 and C 4 H 2 , have increased less sharply (by 1-2 orders of magnitude). This is a strong ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coustenis, Athena Jennings, Donald E. Achterberg, Richard K. Bampasidis, Georgios Lavvas, Panayiotis Nixon, Conor A. Teanby, Nicholas A. Anderson, Carrie M. Cottini, Valeria Flasar, F. Michael |
author_facet |
Coustenis, Athena Jennings, Donald E. Achterberg, Richard K. Bampasidis, Georgios Lavvas, Panayiotis Nixon, Conor A. Teanby, Nicholas A. Anderson, Carrie M. Cottini, Valeria Flasar, F. Michael |
author_sort |
Coustenis, Athena |
title |
Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
title_short |
Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
title_full |
Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
title_fullStr |
Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
title_full_unstemmed |
Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
title_sort |
titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/50705868/Icarus_Coustenis_2015_accepted.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960798590&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
Coustenis , A , Jennings , D E , Achterberg , R K , Bampasidis , G , Lavvas , P , Nixon , C A , Teanby , N A , Anderson , C M , Cottini , V & Flasar , F M 2016 , ' Titan's temporal evolution in stratospheric trace gases near the poles ' , Icarus , vol. 270 , pp. 409-420 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 |
op_relation |
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/33e1ccbe-7b88-420f-b918-727cda117979 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.027 |
container_title |
Icarus |
container_volume |
270 |
container_start_page |
409 |
op_container_end_page |
420 |
_version_ |
1799467038694965248 |