Universität zu Köln

Tokano, Tetsuya (2016). Eclipse-induced changes of Titan's meteorology at equinox. Planet Space Sci., 121. S. 94 - 103. OXFORD: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. ISSN 0032-0633

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Titan experiences solar eclipses by Saturn on similar to 20 consecutive orbits around equinox for durations of up to similar to 6 h. The impact of these eclipses on Titan's surface, lower atmosphere and middle atmosphere is investigated by a global climate model. When an eclipse commences, the surface temperature on the subsaturnian side drops by up to 0.3 K, so that the diurnal maximum surface temperature remains lower than on the antisaturnian side, which is never eclipsed. By contrast, the tropospheric air temperature does not abruptly decrease during the eclipses because of the large thermal inertia, but the diurnal mean temperature slightly decreases. The surface wind at low latitudes becomes less gusty in the presence of eclipse due to damping of turbulence. The troposphere outside the planetary boundary layer is not sensitive to eclipses. In most parts of the stratosphere and mesosphere the temperature decreases by up to 2 K due to eclipses, but there are also layers, which experience relative warming due to thermal contraction of the underlying layers. The temperature in the middle atmosphere rapidly recovers after the end of the eclipse season. Eclipse-induced cooling and warming changes the zonal wind speed by a few m s(-1) due to thermal wind adjustment to changing latitudinal temperature gradients. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Tokano, Tetsuya UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-285531
DOI:	10.1016/j.pss.2016.01.001
Journal or Publication Title:	Planet Space Sci.
Volume:	121
Page Range:	S. 94 - 103
Date:	2016
Publisher:	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Place of Publication:	OXFORD
ISSN:	0032-0633
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SURFACE TEMPERATURES; SOLAR ECLIPSE; ATMOSPHERE Multiple languages Astronomy & Astrophysics Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/28553