Investigation of the Photochemistry in Saturn's Ring Shadowed Atmosphere: Production Rates of Key Atmospheric Molecules

Details Investigation of the Photochemistry in Saturn's Ring Shadowed Atmosphere: Production Rates of Key Atmospheric Molecules Investigation of the Photochemistry in Saturn's Ring Shadowed Atmosphere: Production Rates of Key Atmospheric Molecules

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p13c1685e&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P13C-1685

Physics

[5704] Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets / Atmospheres, [5709] Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets / Composition

Scientific paper

Cassini has been orbiting Saturn for well over seven years. During this epoch, the ring shadow has changed from shading a large portion of the northern hemisphere to shading a small region just south of the equator and is continuing southward. At Saturn Orbit Insertion (July 1, 2004), the ring plane was inclined by ~24 degrees relative to the Sun-Saturn vector. The projection of the B-ring onto Saturn reached as far as 40N along the central meridian (~52N at the terminator). At its maximum extent, the ring shadow can reach as far as 48N (~58N at the terminator). The net result, is that the intensity of both ultraviolet and visible sunlight penetrating into any particular northern/southern latitude will vary depending on Saturn's tilt relative to the Sun and the optical thickness of each ring system. Previous work [1] looked at the variation of the solar flux as a function of solar inclination, i.e. season (see Figure 1). The current work looks at the impact of the oscillating ring shadow on the photodissociation and production rates of key molecules in Saturn's stratosphere and upper troposphere over time. Beginning with methane, the impact on production and loss rates of the long-lived photochemical hydrocarbons leading to haze formation are examined at several latitudes over a Saturn year. We also look at the impacts on phosphine abundance, a disequilibrium species whose presence in the upper troposphere is a tracer of convection processes in the deep atmosphere. Comparison to the corresponding photodissociation rates for a clear atmosphere and the effect of dynamical mixing will be presented. [1] Edgington,S.G., et al., 2006. Adaptation of a 2-D Photochemical Model to Improve Our Understanding of Saturn's Atmosphere. B.A.A.S., 38, 499 (#11.23). The research described in this paper was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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