Global circulation as the main source of cloud activity on Titan

Sébastien Rodriguez (), Stéphane Le Mouélic, Pascal Rannou, Gabriel Tobie, Kevin H. Baines, Jason W. Barnes, Caitlin A. Griffith, Mathieu Hirtzig, Karly M. Pitman, Christophe Sotin, Robert H. Brown, Bonnie J. Buratti, Roger N. Clark and Phil D. Nicholson
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Sébastien Rodriguez: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS, UMR 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44000 Nantes, France
Stéphane Le Mouélic: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS, UMR 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44000 Nantes, France
Pascal Rannou: Groupe de Spectrométrie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique, CNRS UMR-6089, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne
Gabriel Tobie: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS, UMR 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44000 Nantes, France
Kevin H. Baines: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109-8099, USA
Jason W. Barnes: NASA Ames Research Center M/S 244-30, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
Caitlin A. Griffith: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0092, USA
Mathieu Hirtzig: AOSS, PSL, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
Karly M. Pitman: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109-8099, USA
Christophe Sotin: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS, UMR 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44000 Nantes, France
Robert H. Brown: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0092, USA
Bonnie J. Buratti: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109-8099, USA
Roger N. Clark: USGS, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA
Phil D. Nicholson: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Nature, 2009, vol. 459, issue 7247, 678-682

Abstract: Titan's cloud cover Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has a complex climatic system in which hydrocarbons play a role equivalent to that of water on Earth. Titan's clouds are formed by the condensation of methane and ethane. Cloud activity is currently occurring mainly in the southern (summer) hemisphere, but general circulation models predict that this distribution should change with the seasons on a 15-year timescale. The infrared mapping spectrometer on board the Cassini spacecraft provides an opportunity to monitor cloud activity closely and to use the resulting data to refine the circulation models and increase the accuracy of their predictions. The compilation of several million spectra, acquired during 39 monthly fly-bys of Titan between July 2004 and December 2007, reveals patterns of global cloud coverage on Titan in general agreement with the models, confirming that cloud activity is controlled mainly by global circulation.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08014

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