Seasonal Variations of Temperature, Acetylene and Ethane in Saturn's Stratosphere from 2005 to 2010
Abstract
Acetylene (C2H2) and ethane (C2H6) exemplify by-products of complex photochemistry in Saturn’s stratosphere. Their relative stability together with their strong vertical gradients in concentration allow for their use as tracers of vertical motion in Saturn’s lower stratosphere. Earlier studies of Saturn's hydrocarbons have provided only a snapshot of their behaviour with temporal variations remaining to be determined. In this study, we investigate how the thermal structure and concentrations of acetylene and ethane have evolved on Saturn with the changing season. We use FIRMAP (15.5 cm-1 spectral resolution) Cassini-CIRS observations, initially retrieve temperature and subsequently retrieve the abundances of acetylene and ethane. In comparing 2005, 2009 and 2010 results, we observe the disappearance of Saturn's southern warm polar hood with cooling of up to 18.6 K ± 0.9 K at 1.1 mbar south of 75°S (planetographic). This suggests dissipation of Saturn's south polar vortex in addition to an autumnal cooling. We observe a 20% ± 9% enrichment of acetylene and a 30% ± 10% enrichment of ethane at 2.1 mbar at 25°N, together with a 14% ± 9% depletion of acetylene and an 18% ± 7% depletion of ethane at the same altitude at 15°S. This suggests the presence of localised downwelling and upwelling at these latitudes, respectively. These vertical motions are consistent with a recently-developed GCM (global circulation model) of Saturn's tropopause and stratosphere, which predicts this pattern of upwelling and downwelling as a result of seasonally-reversing Hadley circulation.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #44
- Pub Date:
- October 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012DPS....4450003S