Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1774502 | Icarus | 2010 | 16 Pages |
Abstract
This paper reports on the results from an extensive study of all nadir-looking spectra acquired by Cassini/CIRS during the 44 flybys performed in the course of the nominal mission (2004-2008). With respect to the previous study (Coustenis, A., and 24 colleagues [2007]. Icarus 189, 35-62, on flybys TB-T10) we present here a significantly richer dataset with, in particular, more data at high northern and southern latitudes so that the abundances inferred here at these regions are more reliable. Our enhanced high-resolution dataset allows us to infer more precisely the chemical composition of Titan all over the disk. We also include improved spectroscopic data for some molecules and updated temperature profiles. The latitudinal distributions of all of the gaseous species are inferred. We furthermore test vertical distributions essentially for acetylene (C2H2) from CIRS limb-inferred data and from current General Circulation Models for Titan and compare our results on all the gaseous abundances with predictions from 1-D photochemical-radiative models to check the reliability of the chemical reactions and pathways.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
A. Coustenis, D.E. Jennings, C.A. Nixon, R.K. Achterberg, P. Lavvas, S. Vinatier, N.A. Teanby, G.L. Bjoraker, R.C. Carlson, L. Piani, G. Bampasidis, F.M. Flasar, P.N. Romani,