Titan's carbon budget and the case of the missing ethane.
J Phys Chem A
; 113(42): 11221-6, 2009 Oct 22.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19827852
ABSTRACT
The retrieval of data from the Cassini-Huygens mission has revealed much about Titan's atmospheric-surface system and has precipitated more questions. One of these questions involves the lack of large reservoirs of ethane that were predicted by a variety of studies prior to the arrival of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. Using an updated and comprehensive photochemical model, we examine the nature of Titan's carbon budget, initiated by the destruction of methane, and the role that ethane condensation plays in this budget. Model results show that 40% of methane destruction results in ethane formation, with a net production rate of 2.7 x 10(9) molecules cm(-2) s(-1), due primarily to acetylenic catalysis in Titan's stratosphere. This corresponds to a liquid ethane layer of several hundred meters over geologic time. However, episodic methane outgassing, subsurface sequestration, and chemical processing of Titan's surface are likely responsible for the limiting of ethane condensate on Titan's surface to less than 10 m globally averaged.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Prognostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
J Phys Chem A
Journal subject:
QUIMICA
Year:
2009
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States