Three-dimensional, dynamic meteorology of Titan

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[0343] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Planetary Atmospheres, [3346] Atmospheric Processes / Planetary Meteorology, [5445] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Meteorology

Scientific paper

Titan exhibits an active weather cycle involving methane. Because of low insolation and a stabilizing antigreenhouse effect [McKay et al. 1989], moist convection on Titan cannot be maintained purely through surface evaporative fluxes, indicating that moisture convergence provided by large-scale modes of circulation is important for convective cloud formation [e.g., Mitchell et al. 2006; Barth & Rafkin 2010]. Recent Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) images of Titan have revealed large-scale clouds with an interesting array of morphologies and characteristics. Most strikingly, an arrow-shaped cloud oriented eastward was observed at the equator on 27 September 2010 [Turtle et al. 2011a], followed by observations of surface wetting which gradually diminished over several months [Turtle et al. 2011b]. We demonstrate a process for the physical interpretation of individual observed storms and their aggregate effect on surface erosion through a combined analysis of cloud observations and simulations [Mitchell et al. in press]. We show that planetary-scale Kelvin waves naturally arising in a new, three-dimensional version of our Titan general circulation model (GCM) robustly organize convection into chevron-shaped storms at Titan's equator during the current season, as observed. The phasing of this mode with another, much slower one causes a 20-fold increase in precipitation rates over the average, each producing up to several centimeters of precipitation over 1000-km-scale regions, with important implications for observed fluvial features [Langhans et al. 2011]. Our initial results indicate an essential role for planetary-scale atmospheric waves in organizing Titan's methane weather. I will discuss prospects for extending our analysis to other Titan observations.

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