Ablation and chemistry of meteoric materials in the atmosphere of Titan.
We compute the input of meteoric materials expected on Titan, and integrate this dust model with an ablation model and a comprehensive chemical model, investigating the effects on the atmosphere and surface. We find that a water deposition of approximately 10-100 times the expected interplanetary dust flux, or a recent large impact, is required to produce the observed CO2 abundance. Ionisation due to meteoric activity is not likely to be higher than that due to other sources.
English
M A
MA
Unit for Space Sciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Lara
L M
LM
Lorenz
R D
RD
Ratcliff
P R
PR
Rodrigo
R
R
D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D019443:Cosmic Dust; D004583:Electrons; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D019110:Meteoroids; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018539:Saturn; D017640:Silicates / Q000032:analysis
D019443:Cosmic Dust; D017640:Silicates; D002245:Carbon Dioxide