Titan's Atmospheric Temperatures, Winds, and Composition
- Flasar, Michael
- Achterberg, Richard K.
- Conrath, Barney J.
- Gierasch, Peter J.
- Kunde, Virgil G.
- Nixon, Conor A.
- Bjoraker, Gordon L.
- Jennings, Donald E.
- Romani, Paul N.
- Simon-Miller, Amy A.
- Bézard, Bruno
- Coustenis, Athéna
- Irwin, Patrick G. J.
- Teanby, Nicholas A.
- Brasunas, J.
- Pearl, John C.
- Segura, M. E.
- Carlson, Ronald C.
- Mamoutkine, Andrei
- Schinder, P. J.
- Barucci, Maria Antonella
- Courtin, Régis
- Fouchet, Thierry
- Gautier, Daniel
- Lellouch, Emmanuel
- Marten, André
- Prangé, Renée
- Vinatier, Sandrine
- Strobel, Darell
- Calcutt, Simon B.
- Read, Peter L.
- Taylor, Frederic W.
- Bowles, N.
- Samuelson, Robert E.
- Orton, Glenn S.
- Spilker, Linda J.
- Owen, Tobias C.
- Spencer, John R.
- Showalter, Mark R.
- Ferrari, C.
- Abbas, Mian M.
- Raulin, François
- Edgington, Scott G.
- Ade, Peter A.
- Wishnow, E. H.
Publication date
January 2005
DOI Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Abstract
International audienceTemperatures 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
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