The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud
Abstract Early during Titan's southern fall, images captured by Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem revealed the formation of a large cloud above Titan's south pole. Subsequent analysis of Cassini data revealed the cloud contained HCN ice, but the cloud's evolution has not been e...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113415 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849716828740255744 |
|---|---|
| author | Lavender Elle Hanson Robert S. French Darryn W. Waugh Erika L. Barth Carrie M. Anderson |
| author_facet | Lavender Elle Hanson Robert S. French Darryn W. Waugh Erika L. Barth Carrie M. Anderson |
| author_sort | Lavender Elle Hanson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Early during Titan's southern fall, images captured by Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem revealed the formation of a large cloud above Titan's south pole. Subsequent analysis of Cassini data revealed the cloud contained HCN ice, but the cloud's evolution has not been examined. We reviewed imagery of Titan's south pole between 2012 and the end of mission at Ls = 93°. We find evidence of cloud formation as early as Ls = 32° (April 2012), one terrestrial month earlier than previously reported, after which the cloud persists until Ls = 79° (mid 2016). The cloud top altitude descended from about 320 km at Ls = 32° to below 230 km by Ls = 79°, at which point it became obscured by atmospheric methane absorption. The cloud also grew laterally, remaining just beyond the terminator, suggesting the cloud marks a region of cold air in the polar stratosphere. These measurements place new constraints on Titan's polar stratospheric temperature structure and circulation during southern fall. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ea902d6858f43a3bdeb3510158e8a97 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ea902d6858f43a3bdeb3510158e8a972025-08-20T03:12:52ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-05-01529n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113415The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar CloudLavender Elle Hanson0Robert S. French1Darryn W. Waugh2Erika L. Barth3Carrie M. Anderson4Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Johns Hopkins University Baltimore MD USASETI Institute Mountain View CA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Johns Hopkins University Baltimore MD USASouthwest Research Institute Boulder CO USAPlanetary Systems Laboratory NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USAAbstract Early during Titan's southern fall, images captured by Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem revealed the formation of a large cloud above Titan's south pole. Subsequent analysis of Cassini data revealed the cloud contained HCN ice, but the cloud's evolution has not been examined. We reviewed imagery of Titan's south pole between 2012 and the end of mission at Ls = 93°. We find evidence of cloud formation as early as Ls = 32° (April 2012), one terrestrial month earlier than previously reported, after which the cloud persists until Ls = 79° (mid 2016). The cloud top altitude descended from about 320 km at Ls = 32° to below 230 km by Ls = 79°, at which point it became obscured by atmospheric methane absorption. The cloud also grew laterally, remaining just beyond the terminator, suggesting the cloud marks a region of cold air in the polar stratosphere. These measurements place new constraints on Titan's polar stratospheric temperature structure and circulation during southern fall.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113415 |
| spellingShingle | Lavender Elle Hanson Robert S. French Darryn W. Waugh Erika L. Barth Carrie M. Anderson The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud Geophysical Research Letters |
| title | The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud |
| title_full | The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud |
| title_fullStr | The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud |
| title_short | The Evolution of Titan's Cold South Polar Cloud |
| title_sort | evolution of titan s cold south polar cloud |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113415 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lavenderellehanson theevolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT robertsfrench theevolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT darrynwwaugh theevolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT erikalbarth theevolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT carriemanderson theevolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT lavenderellehanson evolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT robertsfrench evolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT darrynwwaugh evolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT erikalbarth evolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud AT carriemanderson evolutionoftitanscoldsouthpolarcloud |