Hydrocarbons meridional and vertical distribution in Saturn's stratosphere from Cassini/CIRS limb observations.

Details Hydrocarbons meridional and vertical distribution in Saturn's stratosphere from Cassini/CIRS limb observations. Hydrocarbons meridional and vertical distribution in Saturn's stratosphere from Cassini/CIRS limb observations.

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..642g&link_type=abstract

European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a

Computer Science

Scientific paper

Methane photolysis by solar UV in Saturn's upper atmosphere initiates a complex hydrocarbon chemistry, which by-products are transported downwards by eddy diffusion [1,2]. Saturn's seasonal cycle modulates this photochemistry, as well as the stratospheric temperatures, through temporal and latitudinal changes in solar insolation. Atmospheric dynamics such as horizontal diffusion and advection, which are still poorly known, also affect hydrocarbon meridional distribution. In this study, we present an analysis of limb data acquired by the Composite Infra-Red Spectrometer (CIRS) on-board Cassini spacecraft. From CIRS data, we retrieved the acetylene (C2H2), ethane (C2H6) and propane (C3H8) vertical and meridional stratospheric distributions. In particular, we were able to retrieve the propane distribution with a spatial coverage never achieved before. By taking advantage of the limb viewing geometry, where infrared radiation is emitted through a large optical path and a narrow altitude range, we also improved the vertical extent and resolution with respect to previous nadir observations [3-5]. These three species, having various chemical lifetimes, are affected in different ways by atmospheric dynamics. Comparing their volume mixing ratios (vmr) inferred from observations to photochemical models thus provides a way of tracing dynamical phenomena.

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