Solar flux in Saturn's atmosphere: Penetration and heating rates in the aerosol and cloud layers

In this work, we describe an analysis of the internal solar radiation fields in Saturn's atmosphere. The aim of this paper is to study how the solar radiation flux in optical wavelengths (0.25-1.0 μm) is attenuated, primarily by the effect of the aerosols located close to the tropopause level, retrieving also the corresponding solar heating rates. We use a doubling-adding method and previous results on the vertical cloud and haze structure of Saturn's atmosphere. Our study shows that the maximum penetration level (∼250 mbar) for these wavelengths is substantially higher than previously expected because of the huge optical thickness of the tropospheric haze described in all vertical cloud structure models. We compare our results with previous estimates and parameterizations for seasonal climate models and propose a new approach for future models, with an intense and concentrated heating rate close to the top level of the tropospheric haze. Given that our spectral range accounts for about the 70% of the total solar flux, and using previous estimates for the penetration levels of infrared radiation in Saturn's atmosphere, we conclude solar radiation effect is negligible at levels below 600 mbar. This result is fundamental for understanding the role of solar radiation in the general atmospheric circulation of Saturn.     

Saturn's cloud structure and temporal evolution from ten years of Hubble Space Telescope images (1994-2003)

We present a study of the vertical structure of clouds and hazes in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's Southern Hemisphere during 1994-2003, about one third of a Saturn year, based on Hubble Space Telescope images. The photometrically calibrated WFPC2 images cover the spectral region between the near-UV (218-255 nm) and the near-IR (953-1042 nm), including the 890 nm methane band. Using a radiative transfer code, we have reproduced the observed center-to-limb variations in absolute reflectivity at selected latitudes which allowed us to characterize the vertical structure of the entire hemisphere during this period. A model atmosphere with two haze layers has been used to study the variation of hazes with latitude and to characterize their temporal changes. Both hazes are located above a thick cloud, putatively composed of ammonia ice. An upper thin haze in the stratosphere (between 1 and 10 mbar) is found to be persistent and formed by small particles (radii ∼0.2 μm). The lower thicker haze close to the tropopause level shows a strong latitudinal dependence in its optical thickness (typically τ∼20-40 at the equator but τ∼5 at the pole, at 814 nm). This tropospheric haze is blue-absorbent and extends from 50 to 100 mbar to about ∼400 mbar. Both hazes show temporal variability, but at different time-scales. First, there is a tendency for the optical thickness of the stratospheric haze to increase at all latitudes as insolation increases. Second, the tropospheric haze shows mid-term changes (over time scales from months to 1-2 years) in its optical thickness (typically by a factor of 2). Such changes always occur within a rather narrow latitude band (width ∼5-10°), affecting almost all latitudes but at different times. Third, we detected a long-term (∼10 year) decrease in the blue single-scattering albedo of the tropospheric haze particles, most intense in the equatorial and polar areas. Long-term changes follow seasonal insolation variations smoothly without any apparent delay, suggesting photochemical processes that affect the particles optical properties as well as their size. In contrast, mid-term changes are sudden and show various time-scales, pointing to a dynamical origin.     

Phosphine on Jupiter and Saturn from Cassini/CIRS

The global distribution of phosphine (PH₃) on Jupiter and Saturn is derived using 2.5 cm⁻¹ spectral resolution Cassini/CIRS observations. We extend the preliminary PH₃ analyses on the gas giants [Irwin, P.G.J., and 6 colleagues, 2004. Icarus 172, 37-49; Fletcher, L.N., and 9 colleagues, 2007a. Icarus 188, 72-88] by (a) incorporating a wider range of Cassini/CIRS datasets and by considering a broader spectral range; (b) direct incorporation of thermal infrared opacities due to tropospheric aerosols and (c) using a common retrieval algorithm and spectroscopic line database to allow direct comparison between these two gas giants.The results suggest striking similarities between the tropospheric dynamics in the 100-1000 mbar regions of the giant planets: both demonstrate enhanced PH₃ at the equator, depletion over neighbouring equatorial belts and mid-latitude belt/zone structures. Saturn's polar PH₃ shows depletion within the hot cyclonic polar vortices. Jovian aerosol distributions are consistent with previous independent studies, and on Saturn we demonstrate that CIRS spectra are most consistent with a haze in the 100-400 mbar range with a mean optical depth of 0.1 at 10 μm. Unlike Jupiter, Saturn's tropospheric haze shows a hemispherical asymmetry, being more opaque in the southern summer hemisphere than in the north. Thermal-IR haze opacity is not enhanced at Saturn's equator as it is on Jupiter.Small-scale perturbations to the mean PH₃ abundance are discussed both in terms of a model of meridional overturning and parameterisation as eddy mixing. The large-scale structure of the PH₃ distributions is likely to be related to changes in the photochemical lifetimes and the shielding due to aerosol opacities. On Saturn, the enhanced summer opacity results in shielding and extended photochemical lifetimes for PH₃, permitting elevated PH₃ levels over Saturn's summer hemisphere.     

The haze and methane distributions on Uranus from HST-STIS spectroscopy

We analyzed a unique, three-dimensional data set of Uranus acquired with the STIS Hubble spectrograph on August 19, 2002. The data covered a full afternoon hemisphere at 0.1 arc-sec spatial resolution between 300 and 1000 nm wavelength at 1 nm resolution. Navigation was accurate to 0.002 arc-sec and 0.02 nm. We tested our calibration with WFPC2 images of Uranus and found good agreement. We constrained the vertical aerosol structure with radiative transfer calculations. The standard types of models for Uranus with condensation cloud layers did not fit our data as well as models with an extended haze layer. The dark albedo of Uranus at near-infrared methane windows could be explained by methane absorption alone using conservatively scattering aerosols. Ultraviolet absorption from small aerosols in the stratosphere was strongest at high southern latitudes. The uppermost troposphere was almost clear, but showed a remarkable narrow spike of opacity centered on the equator to 0.2° accuracy. This feature may have been related to influx from ring material. At lower altitudes, the feature was centered at 1-2° latitude, suggesting an equatorial circulation toward the north. Below the 1.2 bar level, the aerosol opacity increased some 100 fold. A comparison of methane and hydrogen absorptions contradicted the standard interpretation of methane band images, which assumes that the methane mixing ratio is independent of latitude and attributes reflectivity variations to variations in the aerosol opacity. The opposite was true for the main contrast between brighter high latitudes and darker low latitudes, probing the 1-3 bar region. The methane mixing ratio varied between 0.014 and 0.032 from high to low southern latitudes, while the aerosol opacity varied only moderately with latitude, except for an enhancement at −45° latitude and a decrease north of the equator. The latitudinal variation of methane had a similar shape as that of ammonia probed by microwave observations at deeper levels. The variability of methane challenges our understanding of Uranus and requires reconsideration of previous investigations based on a faulty assumption. Below the 2 bar level, the haze was thinning somewhat. Our global radiative transfer models with 1° latitude sampling fit the observed reflectivities to 2% rms. The observed spectra of two discrete clouds could be modeled by using the background model of the appropriate latitude and adding small amounts of additional opacity at levels near 1.2 bar (southern cloud) and levels as high as 0.1 bar (northern cloud). These clouds may have been methane condensation clouds of low optical depth (∼0.2).     

On the efficiency of polarization measurements while studying aerosols in the terrestrial atmosphere

It has been shown that the orbital polarization measurements of the Earth in the spectral range λ > 300 nm do not allow the sets of the Stokes parameters satisfying the homogeneity requirement for the optical properties of the “atmosphere + surface” system to be retrieved. Due to this, the atmospheric and surface contributions cannot be correctly separated and the physical properties of the atmospheric aerosol cannot be determined. This is caused by the optical heterogeneity of the system, the different nature of aerosol above different relief features, and the poorly predictable temporal changes of the optical properties of the “atmosphere + surface” system. Observations at λ < 300 nm are more acceptable, since not only the surface but also the tropospheric layer of the atmosphere, which are both mostly subjected to the effects of horizontal inhomogeneity and temporal variations, become practically invisible due to a high absorption by the ozone layer. Because of this, from the scans along specified latitude zones, one may obtain the quasi-homogeneous dependences of the second Stokes parameter Q(α) (U(α) = 0) suitable for estimating the physical characteristics of the stratospheric aerosol and revealing their horizontal and temporal variations.     

Vertical structure modeling of Saturn's equatorial region using high spectral resolution imaging

A series of narrow-band images of Saturn was acquired on 7-11 February 2002 with an acousto-optic imaging spectrometer (AImS) at about 160 wavelengths between 500 and 950 nm. Our unique data set with high spectral agility and wide spectral coverage enabled us to extensively study the cloud structure and aerosol properties of Saturn's equatorial region at −10° latitude. Theoretical center-limb profiles based on twelve cloud models were fit to the observations at 23 wavelengths across the 619-, 727-, and 890-nm methane bands. A simultaneous multiwavelength multivariable fitting algorithm was adopted in varying up to 9 free parameters to efficiently explore the vast multidimensional parameter space, and a total of ∼12,000 initial conditions were tested. From the acceptable ranges of the model parameters, we obtained the following major conclusions: (1) the brightening of Saturn's equatorial region observed near 890 nm in February 2002 (I/F∼0.25 at the central meridian) results from high altitudes of a stratospheric haze layer (τ?∼0.05 above ∼0.04-bar level) and an upper tropospheric cloud (τ∼6 above ∼0.25-bar level), (2) if the upper tropospheric cloud is composed of ammonia ice particles and the Mie theory is applied, the mean particle size is larger than about 0.5 μm, (3) an optically thick cloud layer exists at a level of 0.5-2.2 bar below the upper cloud deck in Saturn's equatorial region. The ongoing observations by the Cassini spacecraft over wider spectral range and from various phase angles will further constrain Saturn's cloud structure and aerosol properties.     

Study of the vertical structure of Saturn's atmosphere using HST/WFPC2 images

We have studied the vertical structure of hazes at six different latitudes (−60°, −50°, −30°, −10°, +30°, and +50°) on Saturn's atmosphere. For that purpose we have compared the results of our forward radiative transfer model to limb-to-limb reflectivity scans at four different wavelengths (230, 275, 673.2, and 893 nm). The images were obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in September 1997, during fall on Saturn's northern hemisphere. The spatial distribution of particles appears to be very variable with latitude both in the stratosphere and troposphere. For the latitude range +50° to −50°, an atmospheric structure consisting of a stratospheric haze and a tropospheric haze interspersed by clear gas regions has been found adequate to explain the center to limb reflectivities at the different wavelengths. This atmospheric structure has been previously used by Ortiz et al. (1996, Icarus 119, 53-66) and Stam et al. (2001, Icarus 152, 407-422). In this work the top of the tropospheric haze is found to be higher at the southern latitudes than at northern latitudes. This hemispherical asymmetry seems to be related to seasonal effects. Different latitudes experience different amount of solar insolation that can affect the atmospheric structure as the season varies with time. The haze optical thickness is largest (about 30 at 673.2 nm) at latitudes ±50 and −10 degrees, and smallest (about 18) at ±30 degrees. The stratospheric haze is found to be optically thin at all studied latitudes from −50 to +50 degrees being maximum at −10° (τ=0.033). At −60° latitude, where the UV images show a strong darkening compared to other regions on the planet, the cloud structure is remarkably different when compared to the other latitudes. Here, aerosol and gas are found to be uniformly mixed down to the 400 mbar level.     

Characterising Saturn's vertical temperature structure from Cassini/CIRS

Thermal infrared spectra of Saturn from 10-1400 cm⁻¹ at 15 cm⁻¹ spectral resolution and a spatial resolution of 1°-2° latitude have been obtained by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer [Flasar, F.M., and 44 colleagues, 2004. Space Sci. Rev. 115, 169-297]. Many thousands of spectra, acquired over eighteen-months of observations, are analysed using an optimal estimation retrieval code [Irwin, P.G.J., Parrish, P., Fouchet, T., Calcutt, S.B., Taylor, F.W., Simon-Miller, A.A., Nixon, C.A., 2004. Icarus 172, 37-49] to retrieve the temperature structure and para-hydrogen distribution over Saturn's northern (winter) and southern (summer) hemispheres. The vertical temperature structure is analysed in detail to study seasonal asymmetries in the tropopause height (65-90 mbar), the location of the radiative-convective boundary (350-500 mbar), and the variation with latitude of a temperature knee (between 150 and 300 mbar) which was first observed in inversions of Voyager/IRIS spectra [Hanel, R., and 15 colleagues, 1981. Science 212, 192-200; Hanel, R., Conrath, B., Flasar, F.M., Kunde, V., Maguire, W., Pearl, J.C., Pirraglia, J., Samuelson, R., Cruikshank, D.P., Gautier, D., Gierasch, P.J., Horn, L., Ponnamperuma, C., 1982. Science 215, 544-548]. Uncertainties due to both the modelling of spectral absorptions (collision-induced absorption coefficients, tropospheric hazes, helium abundance) and the nature of our retrieval algorithm are quantified.Temperatures in the stratosphere near 1 mbar show a 25-30 K temperature difference between the north pole and south pole. This asymmetry becomes less pronounced with depth as the radiative time constant for the atmospheric response increases at deeper pressure levels. Hemispherically-symmetric small-scale temperature structures associated with zonal winds are superimposed onto the temperature asymmetry for pressures greater than 100 mbar. The para-hydrogen fraction in the 100-400 mbar range is greater than equilibrium predictions for the southern hemisphere and parts of the northern hemisphere, and less than equilibrium predictions polewards of 40° N.The temperature knee between 150-300 mbar is larger in the summer hemisphere than in the winter, smaller and higher at the equator, deeper and larger in the equatorial belts and small at the poles. Solar heating on tropospheric haze is proposed as a possible mechanism for this effect; the increased efficiency of ortho- to para-hydrogen conversion in the southern hemisphere is consistent with the presence of larger aerosols in the summer hemisphere, which we demonstrate to be qualitatively consistent with previous studies of Saturn's tropospheric aerosol distribution.     

HST spectral imaging of Titan's haze and methane profile between 0.6 and 1 μm during the 2000 opposition

We report on the analysis of high spatial resolution visible to near-infrared spectral images of Titan at Ls=240° in November 2000, obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope as part of program GO-8580. We employ a radiative transfer fractal particle aerosol model with a Bayesian parameter estimation routine that computes Titan's absolute reflectivity per pixel for 122 wavelengths by modeling the vertical distribution of the lower atmosphere haze and tropospheric methane. Analysis of these data suggests that Titan's haze concentration in the lower atmosphere varies in strength with latitude. We find Titan's tropospheric methane profile to be fairly consistent with latitude and longitude, and we find evidence for local areas of a CH₄-N₂ binary saturation in Titan's troposphere. Our results suggest that a methane and haze profile at one location on Titan would not be representative of global conditions.     

The impact of methane thermodynamics on seasonal convection and circulation in a model Titan atmosphere

We identify mechanisms controlling the distribution of methane convection and large-scale circulation in a simplified, axisymmetric model atmosphere of Titan forced by gray radiation and moist (methane) convection. The large-scale overturning circulation, or Hadley cell, is global in latitudinal extent and provides fundamental control of precipitation and tropospheric winds. The precipitating, large-scale updraft regularly oscillates in latitude with seasons. The distance of greatest poleward excursion of the Hadley cell updraft is set by the mass of the convective layer of the atmosphere; convection efficiently communicates seasonal warming of the surface through the cold and dense lower atmosphere, increasing the heat capacity of the system. The presence of deep, precipitating convection introduces three effects relative to the case with no methane latent heating: (1) convection is narrowed and enhanced in the large-scale updraft of the Hadley cell; (2) the latitudinal amplitude of Hadley cell updraft oscillations is decreased; and (3) a time lag is introduced. These effects are observable in the location and timing of convective methane clouds in Titan’s atmosphere as a function of season. A comparison of simulations over a range of convective regimes with available observations suggest methane thermodynamic-dynamic feedback is important in the Titan climate.     

Vertical structure of the volume scattering coefficient of aerosol in latitude belts of Jupiter’s disk

Pressure dependences of the volume scattering coefficient of aerosol in the atmosphere of Jupiter σ _a (P) are presented. In calculations carried out with separating the gaseous and aerosol absorption, the absorption of light in the continuous spectrum was taken into account. In the analysis, the spectrophotometric data of Jupiter for the absorption bands of methane at 727 and 619 nm—the geometric albedo (measured in 1993) and the reflectivity of some latitudinal details (measured in 2013)—were used. At high tropospheric levels, in the pressure range from 0.4 to 2 bar, the dependences σ _a (P) for the integral disk and latitude belts of the giant planet turned out to be similar. In this part of the atmosphere, the three thickest cloud layers were found; in these layers, within the pressure range from 0.8 to 1.33 bar in the North and South Temperature Belts (NTB and STB), respectively, the values of the coefficient σ _a (P) are maximum. In the pressure interval from 2 to 4 bar, in the analyzed latitude belts except the NTB and STB, the forth aerosol layer was found; its altitude position and vertical structure substantially differ from belt to belt. One more aerosol layer probably exists deeper in the atmosphere; its initial level and extension differ in different latitude belts. Most of the investigated latitude belts exhibit the spectral dependence of σ _a (P) at the atmospheric levels, where the pressure exceeds 3 bar. This probably points to the change in size or nature of aerosol particles.     

Latitudinal variations in Titan’s methane and haze from Cassini VIMS observations

We analyze observations taken with Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), to determine the current methane and haze latitudinal distribution between 60°S and 40°N. The methane variation was measured primarily from its absorption band at 0.61 μm, which is optically thin enough to be sensitive to the methane abundance at 20-50 km altitude. Haze characteristics were determined from Titan’s 0.4-1.6 μm spectra, which sample Titan’s atmosphere from the surface to 200 km altitude. Radiative transfer models based on the haze properties and methane absorption profiles at the Huygens site reproduced the observed VIMS spectra and allowed us to retrieve latitude variations in the methane abundance and haze. We find the haze variations can be reproduced by varying only the density and single scattering albedo above 80 km altitude. There is an ambiguity between methane abundance and haze optical depth, because higher haze optical depth causes shallower methane bands; thus a family of solutions is allowed by the data. We find that haze variations alone, with a constant methane abundance, can reproduce the spatial variation in the methane bands if the haze density increases by 60% between 20°S and 10°S (roughly the sub-solar latitude) and single scattering absorption increases by 20% between 60°S and 40°N. On the other hand, a higher abundance of methane between 20 and 50 km in the summer hemisphere, as much as two times that of the winter hemisphere, is also possible, if the haze variations are minimized. The range of possible methane variations between 27°S and 19°N is consistent with condensation as a result of temperature variations of 0-1.5 K at 20-30 km. Our analysis indicates that the latitudinal variations in Titan’s visible to near-IR albedo, the north/south asymmetry (NSA), result primarily from variations in the thickness of the darker haze layer, detected by Huygens DISR, above 80 km altitude. If we assume little to no latitudinal methane variations we can reproduce the NSA wavelength signatures with the derived haze characteristics. We calculate the solar heating rate as a function of latitude and derive variations of ∼10-15% near the sub-solar latitude resulting from the NSA. Most of the latitudinal variations in the heating rate stem from changes in solar zenith angle rather than compositional variations.     

A survey of Saturn''s Northern Hemisphere from 1979 to 1987

A photographic survey in four spectral regions (ultraviolet, blue, visible and red) of the Northern Hemisphere of Saturn's atmosphere, has been carried out between 1980 (epoch of the edgewise apparition of the rings) and 1987 (ring's maximum aperture), with the aim of analyzing the changes in the cloud morphology and reflectivity with respect to the spacecraft aspects in 1979 (Pioneer 11) and 1980–1981 (Voyager 1 and 2). Very few variations were detected in the meridional position of the belts and zones ; only a shift of 4000 km toward the North appeared to occur in 1984 in ultraviolet light to the region at latitude 46°N (occupied in 1980–1981 by the “ribbon” feature). Other belts and zones remained stable to ground-based telescopic resolution during the whole period. An increase of 7% in the reflectivity ratio of the belt NEB and the zone EZ, was noted in the spectral interval from 4000 to 6500 Å last year. This can be attributed to the seasonal insolation variation.     

Titan's atmospheric engine: an overview

Heating occurs in Titan's stratosphere from the absorption of incident solar radiation by methane and aerosols. About 10% of the incident sunlight reaches Titan's surface and causes heating there. Thermal radiation redistributes heat within the atmosphere and cools to space. The resulting vertical temperature profile is stable against convection and a state of radiative equilibrium is established. Equating theoretical and observed temperature profiles enables an empirical determination of the vertical distribution of thermal opacity. A uniformly mixed aerosol is responsible for most of the opacity in the stratosphere, whereas collision-induced absorption of gases is the main contributor in the troposphere. Occasional clouds are observed in the troposphere in spite of the large degrees of methane supersaturation found there. Photochemistry converts CH₄ and N₂ into more complex hydrocarbons and nitriles in the stratosphere and above. Thin ice clouds of trace organics are formed in the winter and early spring polar regions of the lower stratosphere. Precipitating ice particles serve as condensation sites for supersaturated methane vapor in the troposphere below, resulting in lowered methane degrees of supersaturation in the polar regions. Latitudinal variations of stratospheric temperature are seasonal, and lag instantaneous response to solar irradiation by about one season for two reasons: (1) an actual instantaneous thermal response to a latitudinal distribution of absorbing gases, themselves out of phase with the sun by about one season, and (2) a sluggish dynamical response of the stratosphere to the latitudinal transport of angular momentum, induced by radiative heating and cooling. Mean vertical abundances of stratospheric organics and aerosols are determined primarily by atmospheric chemistry and condensation, whereas latitudinal distributions are more influenced by meridional circulations. In addition to preferential scavenging by precipitating ice particles from above, the polar depletion of supersaturated methane results from periodic scavenging by short-lived tropospheric clouds, coupled with the steady poleward march of the continuously drying atmosphere due to meridional transport.     

The meridional phosphine distribution in Saturn's upper troposphere from Cassini/CIRS observations

The Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) has been used to derive the vertical and meridional variation of temperature and phosphine (PH₃) abundance in Saturn's upper troposphere. PH₃ has a significant effect on the measured radiances in the thermal infrared and between May 2004 and September 2005 CIRS recorded thousands of spectra in both the far (10-600 cm⁻¹) and mid (600-1400 cm⁻¹) infrared, at a variety of latitudes covering the southern hemisphere. Low spectral resolution (15 cm⁻¹) data has been used to constrain the temperature structure of the troposphere between 100 and 500 mbar. The vertical distributions of phosphine and ammonia were retrieved from far-infrared spectra at the highest spectral resolution (0.5 cm⁻¹), and lower resolution (2.5 cm⁻¹) mid-infrared data were used to map the meridional variation in the abundance of phosphine in the 250-500 mbar range. Temperature variations at the 250 mbar level are shown to occur on the same scale as the prograde and retrograde jets in Saturn's atmosphere [Porco, C.C., and 34 colleagues, 2005. Science 307, 1243-1247]. The PH₃ abundance at 250 mbar is found to be enhanced at the equator when compared with mid-latitudes. At mid latitudes we see anti-correlation between temperature and PH₃ abundance at 250 mbar, phosphine being enhanced at 45° S and depleted at 25 and 55° S. The vertical distribution is markedly different polewards of 60-65° S, with depleted PH₃ at 500 mbar but a slower decline in abundance with altitude when compared with the mid-latitudes. This variation is similar to the variations of cloud and aerosol parameters observed in the visible and near infrared, and may indicate the subsidence of tropospheric air at polar latitudes, coupled with a diminished sunlight penetration depth reducing the rate of PH₃ photolysis in the polar region.     

Heat balance in Titan's atmosphere

The recent measurements of the vertical distribution and optical properties of haze aerosols as well as of the absorption coefficients for methane at long paths and cold temperatures by the Huygens entry probe of Titan permit the computation of the solar heating rate on Titan with greater certainty than heretofore. We use the haze model derived from the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) instrument on the Huygens probe [Tomasko, M.G., Doose, L., Engel, S., Dafoe, L.E., West, R., Lemmon, M., Karkoschka, E., See, C., 2008a. A model of Titan's aerosols based on measurements made inside the atmosphere. Planet. Space Sci., this issue, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2007.11.019] to evaluate the variation in solar heating rate with altitude and solar zenith angle in Titan's atmosphere. We find the disk-averaged solar energy deposition profile to be in remarkably good agreement with earlier estimates using very different aerosol distributions and optical properties. We also evaluated the radiative cooling rate using measurements of the thermal emission spectrum by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) around the latitude of the Huygens site. The thermal flux was calculated as a function of altitude using temperature, gas, and haze profiles derived from Huygens and Cassini/CIRS data. We find that the cooling rate profile is in good agreement with the solar heating profile averaged over the planet if the haze structure is assumed the same at all latitudes. We also computed the solar energy deposition profile at the 10°S latitude of the probe-landing site averaged over one Titan day. We find that some 80% of the sunlight that strikes the top of the atmosphere at this latitude is absorbed in all, with 60% of the incident solar energy absorbed below 150 km, 40% below 80 km, and 11% at the surface at the time of the Huygens landing near the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere. We compare the radiative cooling rate with the solar heating rate near the Huygens landing site averaging over all longitudes. At this location, we find that the solar heating rate exceeds the radiative cooling rate by a maximum of 0.5 K/Titan day near 120 km altitude and decreases strongly above and below this altitude. Since there is no evidence that the temperature structure at this latitude is changing, the general circulation must redistribute this heat to higher latitudes.     

Aerosol Component of the Atmosphere of Saturn: Comparison of the Vertical Structure Characteristics in Latitudinal Belts

The altitude dependences of the aerosol and gas scattering components of the effective optical depth in the latitudinal belts of Saturn’s Northern Hemisphere have been obtained from the reflectance spectra in the methane absorption bands at λ = 727 and 619 nm measured in 2015. Zonal characteristics of the vertical structure of the cloud cover of Saturn have been estimated. In the latitudinal belts, the aerosol, the relative concentration of which monotonically decreases with depth in the atmosphere, was found, and no signs of substantial cloud clusterings and rarefactions were observed. The largest and smallest aerosol amounts were determined at the latitudes of 49° N and 80° N, respectively. The altitude levels where the sizes of aerosol particles or their nature may change were revealed. We failed to determine the atmospheric level where the relative concentration of aerosol particles is largest; however, the character of the obtained dependences suggests that such a level is probably in the higher layers of the atmosphere of the giant planet.     

Corona-like atmospheric escape from KBOs: II. The behavior of aerosols

In Levi and Podolak (Levi, A., Podolak, M. [in press] Icarus) we applied the theory of coronal expansion to gas escape from a small, cold, object such as those found in the Kuiper belt. Here we extend the theory to include aerosols that are lifted off the surface by the escaping gas. Aerosols carried by the gas but still gravitationally bound, tend to be lifted to a height above the surface that is dependent on the aerosol radius, so that in steady state the variation of aerosol radius with height is well-defined. We develop an extension of Parker’s coronal flow theory to include the effect of aerosols carried along by the gas and use this to estimate the optical depth of such an atmosphere. For KBOs with CO evaporation from the surface and with radii in the range 245-334 km, line-of-site optical depths through the atmosphere can exceed one at heights of a few hundred kilometers above the surface. Such aerosol layers should be observable, and might be used to infer the flow proprieties of the escaping gas.     

Aerosol in the upper layer of earth’s atmosphere

The upper atmospheric layer of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and earth contains an aerosol layer. The meteorites, rings, and removal of small planetary particles may be responsible for its appearance. The observations from 1979–1992 have shown that the optical aerosol thickness over the earth’s polar regions varies from τ ≈ 0.0002 to 0.1 to λ = 1 μm. The highest τ value was in 1984 and 1992 and was preceded by intense activity of the El Chichon (1982) and Pinatubo (1991) volcanoes. We have shown that increase in τ of the stratospheric aerosol may lead to decrease in ozone layer registered in the 1970s. The nature of the stratospheric aerosol (a real part of the refraction index), effective size particles r, and latitudinal variation τ remain unknown. The analysis of phase dependence of the degree of polarization is effective among the distal methods of determination of n _r and r. The observation value of intensity and degree of polarization in the visible light are caused by the optical surface properties and optical atmospheric thickness, whose values varied with latitude, longitude, and in time. Thus, it is impossible to correctly distinguish the contribution of the stratospheric aerosol. In UV-rays (λ < 300 nm), the ozone layer stops the influence of the surface and earth’s atmosphere up to height of 20–25 km. In this spectrum area, the negative factors are emission of various depolarizating gases, horizontal heterogeneity of the effective optical height of the ozone layer, and oriented particles indicated by variation of the polarization plane.     

The retrieval of altitude profiles of the Martian aerosol microphysical characteristics from the limb measurements of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mars Express</Emphasis> OMEGA spectrometer

Parameterization of the spectral dependence of the optical characteristics of Martian aerosols has been proposed for processing the results of measurements of outgoing radiation. A method for retrieving the altitude profiles of the microphysical characteristics of Martian aerosols from the limb spectrometry of the OMEGA instrument of the Mars Express mission have been developed. For one of the observational sessions, the altitude profiles of the concentration and the modal radius of the size distribution function of aerosol particles retrieved with the proposed parameterization are presented. For the purpose of the interpretation of the data acquired from the optical remote sensing of planetary atmospheres, we consider how the spectral dependence of aerosol optical characteristics, in particular the volume coefficients of aerosol scattering and absorption and the phase function, can be parameterized in a specified, probably wide, spectral range. The method of such a parameterization has been proposed for the cases of a fixed chemical composition of the aerosol materials dominating in the atmosphere. It has been shown that these cases allow the required spectral dependences to be presented as a function of a small number of parameters, for which the parameters of the size distribution function of aerosol particles can be successfully used. However, since such direct calculations of the aerosol characteristics require an inadmissibly long period of time for the tasks of interpretation of the remote sensing data, an algorithm for organizing the parameterization function as a special, preliminary generated computer database has been suggested. This database provides the continuity in the dependence on the parameters, the specified computation accuracy, and the required output speed of the results. As a specific application, the parameterization of the spectral dependence of the optical characteristics of the Martian aerosols has been proposed for the tasks of processing the results of measurements of outgoing radiation. As a result, the method for retrieving the altitude profiles of the microphysical characteristics of Martian aerosols from the limb spectrometric measurements of the OMEGA instrument of the Mars Express mission has been developed. For one of the observational sessions, the altitude profiles of the concentration and the modal radius of the size distribution function of aerosol particles retrieved with the proposed parameterization are presented.