Chapter 7: Titan’s Atmospheric Structure, Composition, Haze, and Dynamics

Veronique Vuitton; Panayotis Lavvas; Conor Nixon; Nicholas A  Teanby

doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-99161-2.00011-5

Chapter 7: Titan’s Atmospheric Structure, Composition, Haze, and Dynamics

Veronique Vuitton, Panayotis Lavvas, Conor Nixon, Nicholas A Teanby

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book

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Abstract

Titan occupies a special place in the study of planets and satellites in our solar system. The opaque atmosphere remained enigmatic until the Cassini-Huygens mission provided new information in 2004–2017. Titan is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere (1.5 bar at the surface). As on Earth, the main atmospheric compound is nitrogen (N2). However, methane (CH4, 1.4%), the second main compound, and the low amount of oxygen (mainly carried by carbon monoxide, CO, 50 ppmv) make the atmosphere chemically reducing. The induced chemistry is totally different from that currently developing on Earth—based on oxidative processes linked to the presence of molecular oxygen (O2)—and ultimately leads to the formation of an extensive photochemical haze. Strong interactions exist between the composition of the atmosphere, the atmospheric circulation, the temperature structure, and the haze and clouds distributions. This chapter discusses the post Cassini-Huygens understanding of the atmospheric Titan system.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Titan After Cassini-Huygens
Editors	Rosaly M.C. Lopes, Charles Elachi, Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, Anezina Solomonidou
Place of Publication	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Publisher	Elsevier
Chapter	7
Pages	157-200
Number of pages	44
Edition	1st
ISBN (Electronic)	9780323991629
ISBN (Print)	9780323991612
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-99161-2.00011-5
Publication status	Published - 20 Jan 2025

Publication series

Name	COSPAR Book Series
Publisher	Elsevier
Number	1

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© 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

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Drivers of Titan’s Seasonal Change
Teanby, N. A. (Principal Investigator)
1/04/24 → 31/03/27
Project: Research

Cite this

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abstract = "Titan occupies a special place in the study of planets and satellites in our solar system. The opaque atmosphere remained enigmatic until the Cassini-Huygens mission provided new information in 2004–2017. Titan is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere (1.5 bar at the surface). As on Earth, the main atmospheric compound is nitrogen (N2). However, methane (CH4, 1.4\%), the second main compound, and the low amount of oxygen (mainly carried by carbon monoxide, CO, 50 ppmv) make the atmosphere chemically reducing. The induced chemistry is totally different from that currently developing on Earth—based on oxidative processes linked to the presence of molecular oxygen (O2)—and ultimately leads to the formation of an extensive photochemical haze. Strong interactions exist between the composition of the atmosphere, the atmospheric circulation, the temperature structure, and the haze and clouds distributions. This chapter discusses the post Cassini-Huygens understanding of the atmospheric Titan system.",

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Chapter 7: Titan’s Atmospheric Structure, Composition, Haze, and Dynamics. / Vuitton, Veronique; Lavvas, Panayotis; Nixon, Conor et al.
Titan After Cassini-Huygens. ed. / Rosaly M.C. Lopes; Charles Elachi; Ingo Mueller-Wodarg; Anezina Solomonidou. 1st. ed. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier, 2025. p. 157-200 (COSPAR Book Series; No. 1).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book

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T1 - Chapter 7

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AU - Nixon, Conor

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N2 - Titan occupies a special place in the study of planets and satellites in our solar system. The opaque atmosphere remained enigmatic until the Cassini-Huygens mission provided new information in 2004–2017. Titan is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere (1.5 bar at the surface). As on Earth, the main atmospheric compound is nitrogen (N2). However, methane (CH4, 1.4%), the second main compound, and the low amount of oxygen (mainly carried by carbon monoxide, CO, 50 ppmv) make the atmosphere chemically reducing. The induced chemistry is totally different from that currently developing on Earth—based on oxidative processes linked to the presence of molecular oxygen (O2)—and ultimately leads to the formation of an extensive photochemical haze. Strong interactions exist between the composition of the atmosphere, the atmospheric circulation, the temperature structure, and the haze and clouds distributions. This chapter discusses the post Cassini-Huygens understanding of the atmospheric Titan system.

AB - Titan occupies a special place in the study of planets and satellites in our solar system. The opaque atmosphere remained enigmatic until the Cassini-Huygens mission provided new information in 2004–2017. Titan is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere (1.5 bar at the surface). As on Earth, the main atmospheric compound is nitrogen (N2). However, methane (CH4, 1.4%), the second main compound, and the low amount of oxygen (mainly carried by carbon monoxide, CO, 50 ppmv) make the atmosphere chemically reducing. The induced chemistry is totally different from that currently developing on Earth—based on oxidative processes linked to the presence of molecular oxygen (O2)—and ultimately leads to the formation of an extensive photochemical haze. Strong interactions exist between the composition of the atmosphere, the atmospheric circulation, the temperature structure, and the haze and clouds distributions. This chapter discusses the post Cassini-Huygens understanding of the atmospheric Titan system.

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T3 - COSPAR Book Series

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EP - 200

BT - Titan After Cassini-Huygens

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A2 - Solomonidou, Anezina

PB - Elsevier

CY - Amsterdam, Netherlands

ER -

Chapter 7: Titan’s Atmospheric Structure, Composition, Haze, and Dynamics

Abstract

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Drivers of Titan’s Seasonal Change

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