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Abstract: We present the results of six soundings of the atmosphere of Titan by the radio occultation technique using the Cassini spacecraft currently in orbit around Saturn. These occultations occurred during four separate targeted Titan encounters in both the Prime and Equinox missions of Cassini over 3years. They cover a wide range of latitude from 75°S to 79°N, split so that three soundings are in the northern hemisphere and three are in the southern hemisphere. Techniques and error analysis are similar to Schinder et al. (2011). The six temperature-altitude profiles presented here are compared to those earlier results. Of special interest is the sudden cooling observed at altitudes of ∼80–100km in the two high northern (winter) soundings at 74°N and 80°N, where the temperature drops by about 10K over the course of 20km. The northern profiles also exhibit a transition between the troposphere and stratosphere that is much more abrupt than in the south, and the northern tropopause temperatures are much cooler. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present results from the two radio occultations of the Cassini spacecraft by Titan in 2006, which probed mid-southern latitudes. Three of the ingress and egress soundings occurred within a narrow latitude range, 31–34°S near the surface, and the fourth at 52.8°S. Temperature–altitude profiles for all four occultation soundings are presented, and compared with the results of the Voyager 1 radio occultation (Lindal, G.F., Wood, G.E., Hotz, H.B., Sweetnam, D.N., Eshleman, V.R., Tyler, G.L. [1983]. Icarus 53, 348–363), the HASI instrument on the Huygens descent probe (Fulchignoni, M. et al. [2005]. Nature 438, 785–791), and Cassini CIRS results (Flasar, F.M. et al. [2005]. Science 308, 975–978; Achterberg, R.K., Conrath, B.J., Gierasch, P.J., Flasar, F.M., Nixon, C.A. [2008b]. Icarus 194, 263–277). Sources of error in the retrieved temperature–altitude profiles are also discussed, and a major contribution is from spacecraft velocity errors in the reconstructed ephemeris. These can be reduced by using CIRS data at 300km to make along-track adjustments of the spacecraft timing. The occultation soundings indicate that the temperatures just above the surface at 31–34°S are about 93K, while that at 53°S is about 1K colder. At the tropopause, the temperatures at the lower latitudes are all about 70K, while the 53°S profile is again 1K colder. The temperature lapse rate in the lowest 2km for the two ingress (dawn) profiles at 31 and 33°S lie along a dry adiabat except within ∼200m of the surface, where a small stable inversion occurs. This could be explained by turbulent mixing with low viscosity near the surface. The egress profile near 34°S shows a more complex structure in the lowest 2km, while the egress profile at 53°S is more stable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Provides information on Titan, the only moon in the Solar system to have a thick atmosphere. Observations on Titan when the Voyager I spacecraft approached Saturn in 1980; Implication of the radio occultation soundings on the mean molecular weight of Titan's atmosphere; Important component of Titan's atmosphere.

In response to ESA's "Voyage 2050" announcement of opportunity, we propose an ambitious L-class mission to explore one of the most exciting bodies in the Solar System, Saturn's largest moon Titan. Titan, a "world with two oceans", is an organic-rich body with interior-surface-atmosphere interactions that are comparable in complexity to the Earth. Titan is also one of the few places in the Solar System with habitability potential. Titan's remarkable nature was only partly revealed by the Cassini-Huygens mission and still holds mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. The proposed mission concept POSEIDON (Titan POlar Scout/orbitEr and In situ lake lander DrONe explorer) would perform joint orbital and in situ investigations of Titan. It is designed to build on and exceed the scope and scientific/technological accomplishments of Cassini-Huygens, exploring Titan in ways that were not previously possible, in particular through full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time. In the proposed mission architecture, POSEIDON consists of two major elements: a spacecraft with a large set of instruments that would orbit Titan, preferably in a low-eccentricity polar orbit, and a suite of in situ investigation components, i.e. a lake lander, a "heavy" drone (possibly amphibious) and/or a fleet of mini-drones, dedicated to the exploration of the polar regions. The ideal arrival time at Titan would be slightly before the next northern Spring equinox (2039), as equinoxes are the most active periods to monitor still largely unknown atmospheric and surface seasonal changes. The exploration of Titan's northern latitudes with an orbiter and in situ element(s) would be highly complementary in terms of timing (with possible mission timing overlap), locations, and science goals with the upcoming NASA New Frontiers Dragonfly mission that will provide in situ exploration of Titan's equatorial regions, in the mid-2030s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We fit the spectrum propene in Titan's stratosphere for the first time. • Propene is present in Titan's stratosphere at 3–11 ppbv within 60° of the equator. • Equatorward of 60°, propene is most abundant within 20° of the equator. • Using new line data we propose a 3- σ upper-limit of for allene of 2.5 ppbv. Abstract Of the C 3 H x hydrocarbons, propane (C 3 H 8) and propyne (methylacetylene, CH 3 C 2 H) were first detected in Titan's atmosphere during the Voyager 1 flyby in 1980. Propene (propylene, C 3 H 6) was first detected in 2013 with data from the Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument on Cassini. We present the first measured abundance profiles of propene on Titan from radiative transfer modeling, and compare our measurements to predictions derived from several photochemical models. Near the equator, propene is observed to have a peak abundance of 10 ppbv at a pressure of 0.2 mbar. Several photochemical models predict the amount at this pressure to be in the range 0.3–1 ppbv and also show a local minimum near 0.2 mbar which we do not see in our measurements. We also see that propene follows a different latitudinal trend than the other C 3 molecules. While propane and propyne concentrate near the winter pole, transported via a global convective cell, propene is most abundant above the equator. We retrieve vertical abundances profiles between 125 km and 375 km for these gases for latitude averages between 60°S–20°S, 20°S–20°N, and 20°N–60°N over two time periods, 2004 through 2009 representing Titan's atmosphere before the 2009 equinox, and 2012 through 2015 representing time after the equinox. Additionally, using newly corrected line data, we determined an updated upper limit for allene (propadiene, CH 2 CCH 2 , the isomer of propyne). We claim a 3- σ upper limit mixing ratio of 2.5 × 10 − 9 within 30° of the equator. The measurements we present will further constrain photochemical models by refining reaction rates and the transport of these gases throughout Titan's atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze spectra acquired by the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) at high resolution from October 2010 until September 2014 in nadir mode. Up until mid 2012, Titan’s Northern atmosphere exhibited the enriched chemical content found since the Voyager days (November 1980), with a peak around the Northern Spring Equinox (NSE) in 2009. Since then, we have observed the appearance at Titan’s south pole of several trace species for the first time, such as HC 3 N and C 6 H 6 , observed only at high northern latitudes before equinox. We investigate here latitudes poleward of 50°S and 50°N from 2010 (after the Southern Autumnal Equinox) until 2014. For some of the most abundant and longest-lived hydrocarbons (C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 6 and C 3 H 8 ) and CO 2 , the evolution in the past 4 years at a given latitude is not very significant within error bars especially until mid-2013. In more recent dates, these molecules show a trend for increase in the south. This trend is dramatically more pronounced for the other trace species, especially in 2013–2014, and at 70°S relative to 50°S. These two regions then demonstrate that they are subject to different dynamical processes in and out of the polar vortex region. For most species, we find higher abundances at 50°N compared to 50°S, with the exception of C 3 H 8 , CO 2 , C 6 H 6 and HC 3 N, which arrive at similar mixing ratios after mid-2013. While the 70°N data show generally no change with a trend rather to a small decrease for most species within 2014, the 70°S results indicate a strong enhancement in trace stratospheric gases after 2012. The 663 cm −1 HC 3 N and the C 6 H 6 674 cm −1 emission bands appeared in late 2011/early 2012 in the south polar regions and have since then exhibited a dramatic increase in their abundances. At 70°S HC 3 N, HCN and C 6 H 6 have increased by 3 orders of magnitude over the past 3–4 years while other molecules, including C 2 H 4 , C 3 H 4 and C 4 H 2 , have increased less sharply (by 1–2 orders of magnitude). This is a strong indication of the rapid and sudden buildup of the gaseous inventory in the southern stratosphere during 2013–2014, as expected as the pole moves deeper into winter shadow. Subsidence gases that accumulate in the absence of ultraviolet sunlight, evidently increased quickly since 2012 and some of them may be responsible also for the reported haze decrease in the north and its appearance in the south at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed spectra acquired at the limb of Titan in the 2006–2013 period by the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) in order to monitor the seasonal evolution of the thermal, gas composition and aerosol spatial distributions. We are primarily interested here in the seasonal changes after the northern spring equinox and interpret our results in term of global circulation seasonal changes. Data cover the 600–1500 cm −1 spectral range at a resolution of 0.5 or 15.5 cm −1 and probe the 150–500 km vertical range with a vertical resolution of about 30 km. Retrievals of the limb spectra acquired at 15.5 cm −1 resolution allowed us to derive eight global maps of temperature, aerosols and C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 6 and HCN molecular mixing ratios between July 2009 and May 2013. In order to have a better understanding of the global changes taking place after the northern spring equinox, we analyzed 0.5 cm −1 resolution limb spectra to infer the mixing ratio profiles of 10 molecules for some latitudes. These profiles are compared with CIRS observations performed during the northern winter. Our observations are compatible with the coexistence of two circulation cells upwelling at mid-latitudes and downwelling at both poles from at last January 2010 to at least June 2010. One year later, in June 2011, there are indications that the global circulation had reversed compared to the winter situation, with a single pole-to-pole cell upwelling at the north pole and downwelling at the south pole. Our observations show that in December 2011, this new pole-to-pole cell has settled with a downward velocity of 4.4 mm/s at 450 km above the south pole. Therefore, in about two years after the equinox, the global circulation observed during the northern winter has totally reversed, which is in agreement with the predictions of general circulation models. We observe a sudden unexpected temperature decrease above the south pole in February 2012, which is probably related to the strong enhancement of molecular gas in this region, acting as radiative coolers. In July and November 2012, we observe a detached haze layer located around 320–330 km, which is comparable to the altitude of the detached haze layer observed by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) in the UV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saturn's moon Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere comparable to Earth's, with a surface pressure of 1.4?bar. Numerical models reproduce the tropospheric conditions very well but have trouble explaining the observed middle-atmosphere temperatures, composition and winds. The top of the middle-atmosphere circulation has been thought to lie at an altitude of 450 to 500?kilometres, where there is a layer of haze that appears to be separated from the main haze deck. This 'detached' haze was previously explained as being due to the co-location of peak haze production and the limit of dynamical transport by the circulation's upper branch. Here we report a build-up of trace gases over the south pole approximately two years after observing the 2009 post-equinox circulation reversal, from which we conclude that middle-atmosphere circulation must extend to an altitude of at least 600?kilometres. The primary drivers of this circulation are summer-hemisphere heating of haze by absorption of solar radiation and winter-hemisphere cooling due to infrared emission by haze and trace gases; our results therefore imply that these effects are important well into the thermosphere (altitudes higher than 500?kilometres). This requires both active upper-atmosphere chemistry, consistent with the detection of high-complexity molecules and ions at altitudes greater than 950 kilometres, and an alternative explanation for the detached haze, such as a transition in haze particle growth from monomers to fractal structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saturn's stow seasonal evolution was disrupted in 2010-2011 by the eruption of a bright storm in its northern spring hemisphere. Thermal infrared spectroscopy showed that within a month, the resulting planetary-scale disturbance had generated intense perturbations of atmospheric temperatures, winds, and composition between 20° and 50°N over an entire hemisphere (140,000 kilometers). The tropospheric storm cell produced effects that penetrated hundreds of kilometers into Saturn's stratosphere (to the 1-millibar region). Stratospheric subsidence at the edges of the disturbance produced "beacons" of infrared emission and longitudinal temperature contrasts of 16 kelvin. The disturbance substantially altered atmospheric circulation, transporting material vertically over great distances, modifying stratospheric zonal jets, exciting wave activity and turbulence, and generating a new cold anticyclonic oval in the center of the disturbance at 41°N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Observations made by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and the long-wavelength Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) aboard the Cassini spacecraft reveal that the large, long-lived cyclonic vortex at Saturn''s south pole has a 4200-km-diameter cloud-free nearly circular region. This region has a 4 K warm core extending from the troposphere into the stratosphere, concentric cloud walls extending 20–70 km above the internal clouds, and numerous external clouds whose anticyclonic vorticity suggests a convective origin. The rotation speeds of the vortex reach . The Saturn polar vortex has features in common with terrestrial hurricanes and with the Venus polar vortex. Neptune and other giant planets may also have strong polar vortices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Maps of isotherms on surfaces of constant pressure in Titan''s middle atmosphere encircle the poles but show an offset, implying that the mean zonal flow has an axis of symmetry that is tilted relative to the spin axis of the solid body. The effect is seen in both hemispheres around a consistent axis. Periodogram analysis of the temperature field shows that wavenumber one, the signal corresponding to the spin tilt, is the strongest wave component. We conjecture that the tilt of the atmospheric spin is due to a feedback between the flow and the solar heating. The spin adjusts itself to align the spin equator with the direction toward the Sun, and thereby maximizes the efficiency with which the meridional circulation pumps angular momentum upward to generate superrotation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We report here the first detection of mono-deuterated acetylene (acetylene-d1, C2HD) in Titan''s atmosphere from the presence of two of its emission bands at 678 and 519 cm−1 as observed in CIRS spectral averages of nadir and limb observations taken between July 2004 and mid-2007. By using new laboratory spectra for this molecule, we were able to derive its abundance at different locations over Titan''s disk. We find the C2HD value () to be roughly constant with latitude from the South to about 45° N and then to increase slightly in the North, as is the case for C2H2. Fitting the 678 cm−1 band simultaneously with the nearby C2H2 729 cm−1 band, allows us to infer a D/H ratio in acetylene on Titan with an average of the modal values of from the nadir observations, the uncertainties being mainly due to the vertical profile used for the fit of the acetylene band. Although still subject to significant uncertainty, this D/H ratio appears to be significantly larger than the one derived in methane from the CH3D band (upper limit of ; Bézard, B., Nixon, C.A., Kleiner, I., Jennings, D.E., 2007. Icarus, 191, 397–400; Coustenis, A., Achterberg, R., Conrath, B., Jennings, D., Marten, A., Gautier, D., Bjoraker, G., Nixon, C., Romani, P., Carlson, R., Flasar, M., Samuelson, R.E., Teanby, N., Irwin, P., Bézard, B., Orton, G., Kunde, V., Abbas, M., Courtin, R., Fouchet, Th., Hubert, A., Lellouch, E., Mondellini, J., Taylor, F.W., Vinatier, S., 2007. Icarus 189, 35–62). From the analysis of limb data we infer D/H values of (at 54° S), (at 15° S), (at 54° N) and (at 80° N), which average to a mean value of . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Composite Infrared Radiometer–Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument, on the NASA Cassini Saturn orbiter, has been acquiring thermal emission spectra from the atmosphere of Titan since orbit insertion in 2004. Observation sequences for measuring stratospheric temperatures have been obtained using both a nadir mapping mode and a limb viewing mode. The limb observations give better vertical resolution, and give information from higher altitudes, while the nadir observations provide more complete longitude coverage. Because the scale height of Titan''s atmosphere is large enough so that emission from a grazing ray is influenced by horizontal temperature variations in the atmosphere, we have developed a two-dimensional temperature retrieval algorithm for reducing the limb spectra, which solves simultaneously for meridional and vertical temperature variations. The analyzed nadir mapping data have sampled nearly all longitudes at latitudes from about 90° S to 60° N, providing temperatures between pressure levels of about 5 to 0.2 mbar. The limb data covers latitudes between about 75° S and 85° N, and yields temperatures between about 1 and 0.005 mbar, at a small number of longitudes. The retrieved temperatures are consistent with early results from nadir observations [Flasar, F.M., and 44 colleagues, 2005. Science 308, 975–978] between 0.5 and 5 mbar where both results are valid, with the warmest temperatures at the equator, and much stronger meridional temperature gradients in the northern (winter) hemisphere than in the southern. At higher altitudes not probed by nadir viewing, the limb data reveal that the stratopause is nearly 20 K warmer in the northern polar regions than at the equator and southern hemisphere, and that the altitude of the stratopause shifts from ≈0.1 mbar (300 km) near the equator to 0.01 mbar (400 km) poleward of about 40° N. When the gradient wind equation is used to construct a zonal mean wind, the reversal in sign of the temperature leads to capping of the winter westerly flow. The core of the resulting jet is about 190 m s−1 in magnitude, spans between 30° N and 60° N, and peaks near 0.1 mbar. Estimates of the radiative heating associated with the radiative disequilibrium lead to a meridional overturning timescale of about three Earth years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have analyzed data recorded by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) aboard the Cassini spacecraft during the Titan flybys T0–T10 (July 2004–January 2006). The spectra characterize various regions on Titan from 70° S to 70° N with a variety of emission angles. We study the molecular signatures observed in the mid-infrared CIRS detector arrays (FP3 and FP4, covering roughly the 600–1500 cm−1 spectral range with apodized resolutions of 2.54 or 0.53 cm−1). The composite spectrum shows several molecular signatures: hydrocarbons, nitriles and CO2. A firm detection of benzene (C6H6) is provided by CIRS at levels of about around 70° N. We have used temperature profiles retrieved from the inversion of the emission observed in the methane band at 1304 cm−1 and a line-by-line radiative transfer code to infer the abundances of the trace constituents and some of their isotopes in Titan''s stratosphere. No longitudinal variations were found for these gases. Little or no change is observed generally in their abundances from the south to the equator. On the other hand, meridional variations retrieved for these trace constituents from the equator to the North ranged from almost zero (no or very little meridional variations) for C2H2, C2H6, C3H8, C2H4 and CO2 to a significant enhancement at high northern (early winter) latitudes for HCN, HC3N, C4H2, C3H4 and C6H6. For the more important increases in the northern latitudes, the transition occurs roughly between 30 and 50 degrees north latitude, depending on the molecule. Note however that the very high-northern latitude results from tours TB–T10 bear large uncertainties due to few available data and problems with latitude smearing effects. The observed variations are consistent with some, but not all, of the predictions from dynamical-photochemical models. Constraints are set on the vertical distribution of C2H2, found to be compatible with 2-D equatorial predictions by global circulation models. The D/H ratio in the methane on Titan has been determined from the CH3D band at 1156 cm−1 and found to be . Implications of this deuterium enrichment, with respect to the protosolar abundance on the origin of Titan, are discussed. We compare our results with values retrieved by Voyager IRIS observations taken in 1980, as well as with more recent (1997) disk-averaged Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) results and with the latest Cassini–Huygens inferences from other instruments in an attempt to better comprehend the physical phenomena on Titan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Limb spectra recorded by the Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini provide information on abundance vertical profiles of C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH3C2H, C3H8, C4H2, C6H6 and HCN, along with the temperature profiles in Titan''s atmosphere. We analyzed two sets of spectra, one at 15° S (Tb flyby) and the other one at 80° N (T3 flyby). The spectral range 600–1400 cm−1, recorded at a resolution of 0.5 cm−1, was used to determine molecular abundances and temperatures in the stratosphere in the altitude range 100–460 km for Tb and 170–495 km for T3. Both temperature profiles show a well defined stratopause, at around 310 km (0.07 mbar) and 183 K at 13° S, and 380 km (0.01 mbar) with 207 K at 80° N. Near the north pole, stratospheric temperatures are colder and mesospheric temperatures are warmer than near the equator. C2H2, C2H6, C3H8 and HCN display vertical mixing ratio profiles that increase with height at 15° S and 80° N, consistent with their formation in the upper atmosphere, diffusion downwards and condensation in the lower stratosphere, as expected from photochemical models. The CH3C2H and C4H2 mixing ratios also increase with height at 15° S. But near the north pole, their profiles present an unexpected minimum around 300 km, observed for the first time thanks to the high vertical resolution of the CIRS limb data. C2H4 is the only molecule having a vertical abundance profile that decreases with height at 15° S. At 80° N, it also displays a minimum of its mixing ratio around the 0.1-mbar level. For C6H6, an upper limit of 1.1 ppb (in the 0.3–10 mbar range) is derived at 15° S, whereas a constant mixing ratio profile of is inferred near the north pole. At 15° S, the vertical profile of HCN exhibits a steeper gradient than other molecules, which suggests that a sink for this molecule exists in the stratosphere, possibly due to haze formation. All molecules display a more or less pronounced enrichment towards the north pole, probably due, in part, to subsidence of air at the north (winter) pole that brings air enriched in photochemical compounds from the upper atmosphere to lower levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) reported a North Equatorial Belt (NEB) wave in Jupiter''s atmosphere from optical images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547] and thermal maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132–135], respectively. The connection between the two waves remained uncertain because the two observations were not simultaneous. Here we report on simultaneous ISS images and CIRS thermal maps that confirm that the NEB wave shown in the ISS ultraviolet (UV1) and strong methane band (MT3) images is correlated with the thermal wave in the CIRS temperature maps, with low temperatures in the CIRS maps (upwelling) corresponding to dark regions in the UV1 images (UV-absorbing particles) and bright regions in the MT3 images (high clouds and haze). The long period of the NEB wave suggests that it is a planetary (Rossby) wave. The combined observations from the ISS and CIRS are utilized to discuss the vertical and meridional propagation of the NEB wave, which offers a possible explanation for why the NEB wave is confined to specific latitudes and altitudes. Further, the ISS UV1 images reveal a circumpolar wave centered at 48.5° S (planetocentric) and probably located in the stratosphere, as suggested by the ISS and CIRS observations. The simultaneous comparison between the ISS and CIRS also implies that the large dark oval in the polar stratosphere of Jupiter discovered in the ISS UV1 images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547] is the same feature as the warm regions at high northern latitudes in the CIRS 1-mbar temperature maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132–135]. This comparison supports a previous suggestion that the dark oval in the ISS UV1 images is linked to auroral precipitation and heating [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541–1547]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Retrievals performed on Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer data obtained during the distant Jupiter flyby in 2000/2001 have been used to generate global temperature maps of the planet in the troposphere and stratosphere, but to higher latitudes than were shown previously by Flasar et al. [Flasar, F.M., 39 colleagues, 2004a. Nature 427, 132–135; Flasar, F.M., 44 colleagues, 2004b. Space Sci. Rev. 115, 169–297]. Similar retrievals were performed on Voyager 1 IRIS data to provide the first detailed IRIS map of the stratosphere, and high latitudes in the troposphere. Thermal winds were calculated for each data set and show strong vertical shears in the zonal winds at low latitudes, and meridional temperature gradients indicate the presence of circumpolar jets, as well. The temperatures retrieved from the two spacecraft were also compared with yearly ground-based data obtained over the intervening two decades. Tropospheric temperatures reveal gradual changes at low latitudes, with little obvious seasonal or short-term variation [Orton et al., 1994. Science 265, 625–631]. Stratospheric temperatures show much more complicated behavior over short timescales, consistent with quasi-quadrennial oscillations at low latitudes, as suggested in prior analyses of shorter intervals of ground-based data [Orton et al., 1991. Science 252, 537–542; Friedson, A.J., 1999. Icarus 137, 34–55]. A scaling analysis indicates that meridional motions, mechanically forced by wave or eddy convergence, play an important role in modulating the temperatures and winds in the upper troposphere and stratosphere on seasonal and shorter timescales. At latitudes away from the equator, the mechanical forcing can be derived simply from a temporal record of temperature and its vertical derivative. Ground-based observations with improved vertical resolution and/or long-term monitoring from spacecraft are required for this purpose, though the Voyager and Cassini data given indications that the magnitude of the forcing is very small. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We analyze the thermal infrared spectra of Jupiter obtained by the Cassini-CIRS instrument during the 2000 flyby to infer temperature and cloud density in the jovian stratosphere and upper troposphere. We use an inversion technique to derive zonal mean vertical profiles of cloud absorption coefficient and optical thickness from a narrow spectral window centered at 1392 cm−1 (7.18 μm). At this wavenumber atmospheric absorption due to ammonia gas is very weak and uncertainties in the ammonia abundance do not impact the cloud retrieval results. For cloud-free conditions the atmospheric transmission is limited by the absorption of molecular hydrogen and methane. The gaseous optical depth of the atmosphere is of order unity at about 1200 mbar. This allows us to probe the structure of the atmosphere through a layer where ammonia cloud formation is expected. The results are presented as height vs latitude cross-sections of the zonal mean cloud optical depth and cloud absorption coefficient. The cloud optical depth and the cloud base pressure exhibit a significant variability with latitude. In regions with thin cloud cover (cloud optical depth less than 2), the cloud absorption coefficient peaks at , whereas in regions with thick clouds the peak cloud absorption coefficient occurs in the vicinity of mbar. If the cloud optical depth is too large the location of the cloud peak cannot be identified. Based on theoretical expectations for the ammonia condensation pressure we conclude that the detected clouds are probably a system of two different cloud layers: a top ammonia ice layer at about 900 mbar covering only limited latitudes and a second, deeper layer at 1100 mbar, possibly made of ammonium hydrosulfide. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present the first detection of NH3 ice in the thermal infrared in Jupiter''s atmosphere using Cassini CIRS observations in the 10-μm region obtained on 31 December 2000 and 1 January 2001.We identify a brightness temperature difference α≡TB(1040 cm−1)−TB(1060 cm−1) as an indicator of spectrally identifiable NH3 ice, where 1040 cm−1 is an adjacent continuum region and 1060 cm−1 is the NH3 ice feature. Higher values of α imply a stronger NH3 ice signature in the spectrum. Using midlatitude zonally averaged CIRS spectra, we demonstrate systematic spatial variations in α, with the highest values at the equator and near 23°N.In one CIRS spectral average (covering 22–25°N and 140–240°W), our radiative transfer models are consistent with an optical depth of 0.75±0.25 for NH3 ice particles modeled as randomly oriented 4:1 prolate spheroids (volume equivalent radius=0.79 μm). Particles larger or smaller than 1 μm by about a factor of 2 would be unable to duplicate the observed NH3 ice feature at 1060 cm−1: absorption due to larger particles is excessively broadened, and absorption due to smaller particles is hidden by NH3 gas absorption at 1067 cm−1. We also modeled an average spectrum for a second region on Jupiter (14–17°N and 10–70°W), finding an upper limit of τ=0.2 for the same NH3 ice particle type. The choice of prolate spheroid particles is based on laboratory studies of NH3 ice aerosols, although 1-μm Mie-scattering spheres would also have detectable signatures at 1060 cm−1. We model the 1-μm NH3 ice cloud with a particle-to-gas scale height ratio Hp/Hg=1. For both CIRS spectra analyzed, the spectrum at frequencies greater than 1100 cm−1 also requires a second cloud with essentially grey absorption, which we modeled using 10-μm NH3 ice spheres distributed with Hp/Hg=1/8 and a cloud base at 790 mbar. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The changing size and aspect ratio of the Great Red Spot from 1880 to 2000 are reviewed, indicating that the length of the system has decreased significantly over the last 100 years and continues to decrease at present at a rate of 0.19 degrees per year. Voyager IRIS maps of para hydrogen fraction and potential temperature over the system are presented, showing the internal structure and surrounding areas at pressures from 100 to 500 mbars. In these maps, the GRS appears as a cold temperature anomaly and a low para fraction anomaly. Vertical structure analyses and wind velocity measurements are presented from data acquired by the Galileo spacecraft in 1996 and 2000, respectively. The vertical structure data suggest a very thick, white, cloud deck with a top near 800±100 mbars and an extended, blue-absorbing, optically thick haze up to about 200 mbars with a thin stratospheric haze above it. The wind field shows a substantial increase in the maximum tangential velocity from 150 to 190 m s−1 over the Galileo time period. The vertical structure analyses from Galileo data and the wind and temperature fields from Voyager data all show evidence of a tilt to the Great Red Spot at the cloud deck from north to south and more subtly from east to west. The data support the hypothesis of the GRS as a tilted “pancake” with temporal variability to the tilt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have monitored Titan's stratosphere from the equator to the poles since the beginning of the Cassini mission. We will report here on the monitoring of seasonal evolution near Titan's poles and equator from 2012 until the last flyby of Titan in 2017. In previous papers (Coustenis et al. 2016; 2018 and references therein) we have reported on the observed strong temperature decrease and onset of a strong enhancement of several trace species such as complex hydrocarbons and nitriles (HC3N and C6H6 in particular) at Titan's south pole, while previously observed only at high northern latitudes. This is due to the transition of Titan's seasons from northern winter in 2002 to summer in 2017 and, at the same time, the advent of winter in the south pole. An opposite effect was expected in the north, but observed with certainty only after 2015. We present here a complementary analysis of nadir spectra acquired by Cassini/CIRS (Jennings et al., 2017) at high resolution in the past years and until the last Titan flyby in 2017 and describe the temperature and composition variations near Titan's poles. In the past years, the northern polar region has shown a temperature increase of 10 K, while the south has shown a more significant decrease (up to 25 K) in about 3-4 years. While the south polar region is continuously enhanced since about 2012 (Coustenis et al., 2018, and in preparation) we now see a change in the trend. The 2017 data we have acquired and processed are very important because we had no high-resolution polar data in the Southern pole since 2014. The new results indicate that while the North pole continues to decrease in abundances, the South pole is finally also finally reduced in abundance. Indeed, in the Titan south pole stratosphere most of the molecules, which had preserved their enhancement until end of 2016, sustain a sudden and large drop in abundance in 2017. We will discuss the results and interpretations in terms of GCM and photochemistry.References: Coustenis et al., 2016, Icarus 270, 409-420; Coustenis et al., 2018, Astroph. J., Lett., 854, no2; Jennings et al., 2017, Applied Optics 56, no 18, 5274-5294. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the dynamics of the south polar vortex (SPV) of planet Saturn. The authors show that the planet's SPV has unique properties, some of which resembles other vortices but not any other vortex, in all respects. Images taken by the Cassini imaging science subsystem reveals that Saturn's SPV is anomalously warm in both the tropopause and stratosphere. Saturn's vortex resembles Venus's polar vortices which are cyclonic and have warm features at the poles, and it differs from Jupiter's Great Red Sport and white ovals, which are anticyclones with high clouds at their centers.