|
|
|
LPL Colloquium: Titan’s Weather, Climate and Winds Tuesday, 10 Nov 2009 3:30 pm Location: Kuiper Space Sciences Building, Room 308 Dr. Jonathan Mitchell from UCLA is the scheduled speaker. Titan’s atmosphere is laden with methane vapor, the equivalent of a ~5 meter global ocean. I will demonstrate how the coupling of methane thermodynamics to Titan’s large-scale circulation limits cloud coverage and duration, defines climate zones, and damps the seasonal cycle of temperatures. Cassini and ground-based observations are beginning to reveal these effects in the seasonality of methane clouds and the latitudinal distribution of surface morphologies. I will also discuss dynamical mechanisms leading to the phenomenon of atmospheric superrotation in Titan’s atmosphere including a possible explanation for the orientation of prograde surface winds revealed in Titan’s equatorial dunes. |
| Directory | LARS | LPL Library | LPL WebMail | Webmaster | ||
Department of Planetary Sciences Lunar and Planetary Laboratory 1629 E. University Blvd. Tucson AZ 85721-0092 Phone: 520.621.6963 | Fax: 520.621.4933 Copyright © 2009 Arizona Board of Regents |