Geographic Distribution of N2, CH4, CO2, and H2O Ices on Triton from Near-IR Spectroscopic Monitoring

Details Geographic Distribution of N2, CH4, CO2, and H2O Ices on Triton from Near-IR Spectroscopic Monitoring Geographic Distribution of N2, CH4, CO2, and H2O Ices on Triton from Near-IR Spectroscopic Monitoring

Nov 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004dps....36.1104g&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #36, #11.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 36, p.1087

Physics

Geophysics

Scientific paper

We present new 0.8 to 2.4 μ m spectral observations of Neptune's satellite Triton, obtained at IRTF\slash SpeX between 2001 and 2004 as part of an ongoing search for time-variable phenomena associated with Triton's seasonal volatile transport processes, and also perhaps with reported shorter-term "reddening" events. The ability to detect spectral changes on these time scales depends critically on accurate characterization of any cyclic variations resulting from Triton's 5.877 day rotation period. We will report on our observations of periodic variations of Triton's near-IR absorption bands of N2, CH4, and H2O ices, but not of CO2 ice, in this initial stage of our Triton monitoring program. The observed variations (or lack thereof) give an indication of how these four ice species are distributed in longitude. The most heterogeneously distributed ice is N2, which shows nearly twice as much absorption on Triton's Neptune-facing hemisphere as on the anti-Neptune hemisphere. Comparison with Voyager-era, visual wavelength imaging of Triton's surface suggest that the observed N2 ice is concentrated on low-latitude regions of Triton's polar cap, which are predominantly located on the Neptune-facing hemisphere. Non-volatile H2O ice seems to be slightly concentrated on Triton's leading hemisphere. Despite being highly diluted in N2 ice, the longitudinal distribution of Triton's CH4 ice differs from that of Triton's N2 ice, being slightly concentrated on Triton's trailing hemisphere. Triton's CO2 ice shows the least longitudinal variation, suggesting that it is either very uniformly distributed or that it is confined to high latitudes.
This work was supported by NASA's Planetary Astronomy and Planetary Geology &\ Geophysics programs, and by NSF's Planetary Astronomy program.
\hangindent=0.3truein Grundy, W.M., and L.A. Young (2004) Near infrared spectral monitoring of Triton with IRTF\slash SpeX I: Establishing a baseline. Icarus (in press).

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