Other
Scientific paper
Aug 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007epsc.conf..608d&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2007, Proceedings of a conference held 20-24 August, 2007 in Potsdam, Germany. Online at ht
Other
Scientific paper
Methane CH4 is the only highly reactive and short-lived background component in Titan's atmosphere, so its overall reserve predetermines both features and duration of atmospheric chemical activity. Titan's global chemical activity is considered in terms of methane cycle. One cycle is defined as a period T0=7.0.1014s of complete photochemical destruction of methane's observable atmospheric content CH04 = 2.33.1017 kg. Cycle duration T0, number of the past NP =200±20, future NF =500±50 and total Nmax=NP+NF =700±70 cycles are the main quantitative indices of the global chemical activity [2]. The fact that the period T0 is much less than Titan's lifetime TT =1.42*1017s implies that the current content CH04 is continuously replenishing by methane global circulation. There are two sources of this replenishment, i.e. the outgassing of primordial methane reserve trapped in Titan's interior as the clathrate, and the (sub)ground liquidphase reduction of non-saturated final products of the atmospheric photochemical process. Internal reserve provides the dominant portion (>95%) of general recycling, while reducing reconversion is the minor constituent of the global balance. Yet, there is the problem of the availability of the off-the-shelf trapped methane. Overall admissible stock of the trapped methane depends on its internal allocation and falls in the range (CH4)max1,2=(15.3÷33.3).1020 kg, while continuous atmospheric activity during the whole Titan's life TSun 5.0.1017s needs only (CH4)crit=(CH04 ).Nmax = .(CH4)max 1.65.1020 kg. In turn, this bulk (CH4)crit depends on the clathrate cage-filling efficiency (molecular packing index) {kg CH4/kg clathrate} and can be provided if equals respectively to [1] crit1= (TSun/T0).[(CH4)0/[(CH4)max1] = 5.45.10-3 crit2= (TSun/T0).[(CH4)0/[(CH4)max2] = 2.51.10-3 Thus, the interrelation of overall trapped stock (CH4)max and crucial -values assigns the critical value (CH4)crit that in turn predetermines the very fate of Titan's veil. If the real stock (CH4)real (CH4)crit=1.65.1020 kg, than Titan will lose its veil inevitably (scenario of the "mosaic history"), otherwise (CH4)real (CH4)crit the veil survives down to Titan's dying day ("continuous history"). References [1] H. B. Niemann and 17-co-authors, Nature, 438, 779, (2005). [2] V. Dimitrov, Prog. React. Kin. Mech. 30, N4, 227, (2006).
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