Constraints on the Variability of the Tropospheric Methane Abundance on Titan from Cassini VIMS Observations

Details Constraints on the Variability of the Tropospheric Methane Abundance on Titan from Cassini VIMS Observations Constraints on the Variability of the Tropospheric Methane Abundance on Titan from Cassini VIMS Observations

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.2716p&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #27.16; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.530

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Titan's methane cycles between the atmosphere and the surface, similarly to the hydrological cycle on Earth, as its frequently observed clouds and surface fluvial features indicate. With the constant loss of methane due to photolysis, a surface source is needed to preserve the current high methane abundance in the atmosphere. However, no liquid surfaces or active volcanism have been identified so far, so that the surface branch of Titan's hydrological cycle and its interaction with the atmosphere are yet largely unconstrained. The lack of large liquid surfaces and the preferential occurence of the methane clouds in small areas in the south suggest that the methane distribution on Titan's troposphere might be highly variable, confining the clouds to regions near the surface sources. We present Cassini VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) observations of the 0.64µm methane band, and the constraints on the spatial variation of methane abundance derived from it. The depth of the band is sensitive to the methane as well as the scattering of light by the haze, which increases the apparent methane optical depth. In order to separate the effect of variation in the methane abundance to that of the haze, we compare the methane band depth to the haze optical depth. We find that the band increases to the south of Titan's equator, independently from the haze variation. To quantify the methane variation, we reproduce the observed spectra with radiative transfer models based on the haze properties and vertical distribution at the equatorial region derived by the Huygens DISR (Descent Imager and Spectral Radiometer) team. We find that the band is most sensitive to the higher troposphere and the methane abundance at 20-40 km altitude. We present constraints on the latitudinal distribution of haze, tropospheric methane, and discuss their uncertainties.

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