相关论文: Noble gas depletion on Titan: Clathrate sequestrat…
We use a statistical thermodynamic approach to determine the composition of clathrate hydrates which may form from a multiple compound gas whose composition is similar to that of Titan's atmosphere. Assuming that noble gases are initially…
A striking feature of the atmosphere of Titan is that no heavy noble gases other than argon were detected by the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) aboard the Huygens probe during its descent to Titan's surface in January 2005. Here…
An unexpected feature of Titan's atmosphere is the strong depletion in primordial noble gases revealed by the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer aboard the Huygens probe during its descent on 2005 January 14. Although several plausible…
In this paper, we use a statistical thermodynamic approach to quantify the efficiency with which clathrates on the surface of Titan trap noble gases. We consider different values of the Ar, Kr, Xe, CH4, C2H6 and N2 abundances in the gas…
We describe a scenario of Titan's formation matching the constraints imposed by its current atmospheric composition. Assuming that the abundances of all elements, including oxygen, are solar in the outer nebula, we show that the icy…
Several clues indicate that Titan's atmosphere has been depleted in methane during some period of its history, possibly as recently as 0.5-1 billion years ago. It could also happen in the future. Under these conditions, the atmosphere…
During the accretion of Titan, impact heating may have been sufficient to allow the global melting of water ice and the release of volatile compounds, mainly constituted of CO2, CH4 and NH3. The duration and efficiency of exchange between…
We use a statistical-thermodynamic model to investigate the formation and composition of noble-gas-rich clathrates on Pluto's surface. By considering an atmospheric composition close to that of today's Pluto and a broad range of surface…
We propose a scenario that explains the apparent nitrogen deficiency in comets in a way consistent with the fact that the surfaces of Pluto and Triton are dominated by nitrogen-rich ice. We use a statistical thermodynamic model to…
Titan has a climate system with similarities to Earth, including the presence of a thick atmosphere made up of several atmospheric layers. As on Earth, Titan's climate is influenced by several factors: the gaseous species making up the…
The Galileo probe showed that Jupiter's atmosphere is severely depleted in neon compared to protosolar values. We show, via ab initio simulations of the partitioning of neon between hydrogen and helium phases, that the observed depletion…
The difference between the measured atmospheric abundances of neon, argon, krypton and xenon for Venus, the Earth and Mars is striking. Because these abundances drop by at least two orders of magnitude as one moves outward from Venus to…
I report the results of a new set of calculations for the gravitational contraction of the proto-solar cloud to quantify the idea that Titan may be a captured moon of Saturn (Prentice 1981, 1984). It is proposed that Titan initially…
Titan is the only moon with a substantial atmosphere, the only other thick N$_{2}$ atmosphere besides Earth's, the site of extraordinarily complex atmospheric chemistry that far surpasses any other solar system atmosphere, and the only…
We present results of an investigation into the formation of nitrogen-bearing molecules in the atmosphere of Titan. We extend a previous model (Li et al. 2015, 2016) to cover the region below the tropopause, so the new model treats the…
Escape of an early atmosphere from Titan, during which time NH3 could be converted by photolysis into the present N2 dominated atmosphere, is an important problem in planetary science. Recently Gilliam and Lerman (2014) estimated escape…
Titan is the only icy satellite in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. This atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen with a few percent methane, which supports an active, methane-based hydrological cycle on Titan. The presence of…
Titan's atmospheric composition and dynamical state have previously been studied over numerous epochs by both ground- and space-based facilities. However, stratospheric measurements remain sparse during Titan's northern summer and fall. The…
Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, has a thick atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and methane. The dense orange-brown smog hiding the satellite's surface is produced by photochemical reactions of methane, nitrogen and their dissociation…
Titan's abundant atmospheric N2 and CH4 gases are notable characteristics of the moon that may help constrain its origins and evolution. Previous work suggests that atmospheric CH4 is lost on geologically short timescales and may be…