Geographic control of Titan's mid-latitude clouds.
Observations of Titan's mid-latitude clouds from the W. M. Keck and Gemini Observatories show that they cluster near 350 degrees W longitude, 40 degrees S latitude. These clouds cannot be explained by a seasonal shift in global circulation and thus presumably reflect a mechanism on Titan such as geysering or cryovolcanism in this region. The rate of volatile release necessary to trigger cloud formation could easily supply enough methane to balance the loss to photolysis in the upper atmosphere.
Roe
Henry G
HG
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. hroe@gps.caltech.edu
Brown
Michael E
ME
Schaller
Emily L
EL
Bouchez
Antonin H
AH
Trujillo
Chadwick A
CA
D001272:Atmosphere; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D008697:Methane; D018539:Saturn; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions
D008697:Methane