Formation of a Nitrogen Atmosphere on Titan

Details Formation of a Nitrogen Atmosphere on Titan Formation of a Nitrogen Atmosphere on Titan

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.2726a&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #27.26; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.532

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Recent observations by Huygens Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer provided indirect evidence for Titan's nitrogen atmosphere originating from ammonia [1]. Two mechanisms for the conversion of ammonia to nitrogen have been proposed previously: photolysis of ammonia [2] and impact driven shock chemistry [3]. Production of nitrogen by photolysis of ammonia and the subsequent chemistry is rapid only under warm temperature conditions, since at temperatures below 150 K ammonia abundance is saturation-limited, and at temperatures above 250 K ammonia recycling competes with the formation of nitrogen. Using the photochemical model of Wilson and Atreya [4] and the radiative equilibrium model of Adams et al. [5], we calculate time scales for the formation of nitrogen atmosphere on primordial Titan. We find that 1) Titan's atmospheric temperature would have been warm for a sufficient period of time to account for the formation of 5-10 bars of nitrogen from ammonia; 2) while methane and water played an important role in the nitrogen chemistry of the primordial atmosphere by partially shielding ammonia photolysis and inhibiting nitrogen formation, the increased solar flux during the T Tauri and post T Tauri phase allowed a rapid conversion from ammonia to nitrogen take place. We find that it is possible to form the present abundance of nitrogen, even allowing for past escape, in under10 million years. [1] Niemann et al., Nature 438, 779, 2005. [2] Atreya et al., Science 201, 611, 1978. [3] McKay et al., Nature 332, 520,1988. [4] Wilson and Atreya, JGR 109, E06003, 2004. [5] Adams et al., BAAS 37, 45.02, 2005.

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