Long-term changes in Saturn's troposphere

Details Long-term changes in Saturn's troposphere Long-term changes in Saturn's troposphere

Sep 1985

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1985icar...63..374t&link_type=abstract

Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035), vol. 63, Sept. 1985, p. 374-405.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

21

Astronomical Spectroscopy, Long Term Effects, Saturn Atmosphere, Secular Variations, Troposphere, Absorption Spectra, Ammonia, Atmospheric Models, Hydrogen, Methane, Saturn, Troposphere, Atmosphere, Hydrogen, Quadrupoles, Mixing, Albedo, Methane, Absorption, Equatorial Regions, Comparions, Analysis, Models, Temperature, Parameters, Insolation, Sublimation, Freezing, Latitude, Temperate Regions, Tropopause, Seasonal Variations, Distribution, Haze, Ammonia, Hypotheses, Spectra, Particles

Scientific paper

The author reports the results of monitoring Saturn's H2 quadrupole and CH4 band absorptions outside of the equatorial zone over one-half of Saturn's year. This interval covers most of the perihelion half of Saturn's elliptical orbit, which happens to be approximately bounded by the equinoxes. Marked long-term changes occur in the CH4 absorption accompanied by weakly opposite changes in the H2 absorption. Around the 1980 equinox, the H2 and CH4 absorptions in the northern hemisphere appear to be discontinuous with those in the southern hemisphere. This discontinuity and the temporal variation of the absorptions are evidence for seasonal changes. The absorption variations can be attributed to a variable haze in Saturn's troposphere, responding to changes in temperature and insolation through the processes of sublimation and freezing. The author models the vertical haze distribution of Saturn's south temperate latitudes during 1971 - 1977 in terms of a distribution having a particle scale height equal to a fraction of the atmospheric scale height. He also reports spatial measurements of the absorption in the 6450 Å NH3 band made annually since the 1980 equinox.

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