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ALMA observations of Titan’s atmospheric chemistry and seasonal variation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2018

M. A. Cordiner Open the ORCID record for M. A. Cordiner [Opens in a new window] ,
J. C. Lai ,
N. A. Teanby ,
C. A. Nixon ,
M. Y. Palmer ,
S. B. Charnley ,
A. E. Thelen ,
E. M. Molter ,
Z. Kisiel  and
V. Vuitton
...Show all authors
M. A. Cordiner
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
J. C. Lai
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
N. A. Teanby
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, UK
C. A. Nixon
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov
M. Y. Palmer
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
S. B. Charnley
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov
A. E. Thelen
Affiliation:
New Mexico State University, 1780 E University Ave, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
E. M. Molter
Affiliation:
Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Z. Kisiel
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikøw 32/46, 02-668 Warszawa, Poland
V. Vuitton
Affiliation:
Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France
P. G. J. Irwin
Affiliation:
Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, UK
M. J. Mumma
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: martin.cordiner@nasa.gov
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Abstract

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Results are presented from our ongoing studies of Titan using ALMA during the period 2012-2015, including a confirmation of the previous detection of vinyl cyanide (C2H3CN), as well as the first spatial map for this species on Titan. Simultaneous mapping of HC3N, CH3CN and C2H5CN reveal characteristic abundance patterns for each species that provide insight into their individual photochemical lifetimes, and help inform our understanding of Titan’s unique, time-variable atmospheric chemistry and global circulation. A time-sequence of HC3N maps covering 38 months reveals a dramatic change in the distribution of this gas consistent with high-altitude photochemical production followed by advection towards the southern (winter) pole, combined with rapid loss in the north after Titan’s 2009 seasonal equinox. The 2015 C2H3CN and C2H5CN maps show abundance peaks in Titan’s southern hemisphere, similar to those observed for the short-lived HC3N molecule. The longer-lived CH3CN, on the other hand, remains more concentrated in the north.

Keywords

Planets and satellites: individual (Titan)line: identificationtechniques: interferometrictechniques: spectroscopicastrochemistryastrobiology
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 13 , Symposium S332: Astrochemistry VII: Through the Cosmos from Galaxies to Planets , March 2017 , pp. 95 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2018 

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