Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud

Details Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud

Sep 1996

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.2014m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #20.14; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1132

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Originally, with the aid of Voyager 1 IRIS spectra, and considering only absorption and emission, Samuelson and Mayo (1991, Icarus 91, 207 - 219) determined the vertical distribution of aerosol opacity in the thermal infrared associated with Titan's north polar hood. In addition to a uniformly distributed aerosol haze between 40 and 300 km, they inferred a second component, restricted to the lower stratosphere - a region where hydrocarbon condensation is expected. Because the wavenumber dependence of opacity did not match that for simple alkanes (methane, ethane, and propane), it was suggested that nitriles might be responsible. Shortly thereafter, Samuelson (1992, BAAS 24, 947 - 948) considered the role of scattering semi-quantitatively, and inferred that the wavenumber dependence of opacity for the second component did in fact match that of a thin hydrocarbon cloud composed of relatively large particles. Since that time it has been discovered that methane apparently is highly supersaturated in Titan's upper troposphere, and interest has been renewed in condensation and precipitation processes under such conditions. In particular, the role of condensation and precipitation of ethane seed nuclei from the stratosphere is crucial to understanding these same processes for methane in the troposphere. In an effort to establish boundary conditions for this problem more precisely, we have developed a computer program to include scattering in the radiative transfer formalism. We then re-analyze the IRIS limb tangent data, and infer an abundance and effective particle radius for the stratospheric ethane cloud associated with Titan's north polar hood. Comparisons of these results are made with those computed under steady state conditions, yielding insight into possible seasonal variations.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Particle Size and Abundance of Titan's Ethane Stratospheric Cloud will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1461842