Influence of high abundances of aerosols on the electrical conductivity of the Titan atmosphere

Observations of optical depth and scattering by instrumentation onboard the Huygens probe have been used by Tomasko et al. [Tomasko et al., 2005. Rain, winds and haze during Huygens probe's descent to Titan's surface. Nature 438 (8), 765-778] to deduce that the size and abundance of Titan aerosols could be nearly independent of altitude. Here we show that by assuming a constant mass flux with altitude and using the measured optical depth as a constraint, we obtain more realistic size and abundance distributions. In particular, the calculated abundance decreases from 3.5×10⁷ m⁻³ at 100 km to 8×10⁶ m⁻³ near the surface while the particle radius varies from 0.25 μm at 150 km to 1.1 μm at the surface. These distributions are consistent with the reported measurements for these quantities. Our results are then employed to compute electron and ion densities and conductivities for various solar UV photoelectron emission thresholds. Our model shows that to get agreement with the published (preliminary) conductivity measurements, photoemission cannot be an important source of electrons and ions. To get agreement with the electron and ion conductivity observations, both an additional population of aerosol embryos above 50 km and a trace amount of an electrophillic molecular species below 50 km are needed.     

Dynamics and circulation regimes of terrestrial planets

By the study of simple analogues, either in the form of simplified numerical models or laboratory experiments, considerable insights may be gained as to the likely roles of planetary size, rotation, thermal stratification and other factors in determining the principal length scales, styles of global circulation and dominant waves and instability processes active in the respective climate systems of Earth, Mars, Venus and Titan. In this review, we explore aspects of these analogues and demonstrate the importance of a number of key dimensionless parameters, most notably thermal Rossby and Rhines numbers and a measure of the dominant frictional or radiative timescale, in defining the type of circulation regime to be expected in a prototype planetary atmosphere subject to axisymmetric driving. These considerations help to place Mars, Venus, Titan and Earth into an appropriate context, and may also lay the foundations for predicting and understanding the climate and circulation regimes of (as yet undiscovered) Earth-like extra-solar planets. However, as recent discoveries of ‘super-Earth’ planets around some nearby stars are beginning to reveal, the parameter space determined from axisymmetrically forced prototype atmospheres may be incomplete and other factors, such as the possibility of tidally locked rotation and tidal forcing, may also need to be taken into account for some classes of extra-solar planet.     

Impact megadomes and the origin of the martian crustal dichotomy

We show that a sufficiently energetic impact can generate a melt volume which, after isostatic adjustment and differentiation, forms a spherical cap of crust with underlying depleted mantle. Depending on impact energy and initial crustal thickness, a basin may be retained or impact induced crust may be topographically elevated. Retention of a martian lowland scale impact basin at impact energies ∼3 × 10²⁸-3 × 10²⁹ J requires an initial crustal thickness greater than 10 km. Formation of impact induced crust with size comparable to the martian highlands requires a larger impact energy, ∼1-3 × 10³⁰ J, and initial crustal thickness <20 km. Furthermore, we show that the boundary of impact induced crust can be elliptical due to a spatially asymmetric impact melt volume caused by an oblique impact. We suggest the term “impact megadome” for topographically elevated, impact induced crust and propose that processes involved in megadome formation may play an important role in the origin of the martian crustal dichotomy.     

Recent Progresses in Comparative Planetology——Summary of the Session of Comparative Planetology at the 3rd Conference of Earth System Sciences

Comparative planetology is an interdisciplinary science between Earth sciences and astronomy. It studies physical, chemical and dynamical properties of planets and satellites and their surface characteristics, interior structures and chemistry, magnetic field, climate and possible existence of life. Although the study of comparative planetary science is at its infancy stage in China, it is very encouraging to see that 25 papers were received by the session, which is much more than what we expected. It indicates that more and more scientists are interested in this research field. These papers can be classified into three categories: solar planets, extra-solar planets, and moon explorations. Scientists from both China and oversea reported their recent results.     

Search for Phobos and Deimos gas/dust tori using in situ observations from Mars Global Surveyor MAG/ER

More than 490 elliptical aerobraking and science phasing orbits made by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in 1997 and 1998 provide unprecedented coverage of the solar wind in the vicinity of the orbits of the martian moons Phobos and Deimos. We have performed a comprehensive survey of magnetic field perturbations in the solar wind to search for possible signatures of solar wind interaction with dust or gas escaping from the moons. A total of 1246 solar wind disturbance events were identified and their distribution was examined relative to Phobos, the Phobos orbit, and the Deimos orbit. We find that the spatial distribution of solar wind perturbations does not increase near or downstream of Phobos, Phobos’ orbit, or Deimos’ orbit, which would have been expected if there is significant outgassing or dust escape from the martian moons. Of the 1246 magnetic field perturbation events found in the MGS data set, 11 events were found within 2000 km of the Phobos orbit, while three events were found within 2000 km of the Deimos orbit. These events were analyzed in detail and found to likely have other causes than outgassing/dust escape from the martian moons. Thus we conclude that the amount of gas/dust escaping the martian moons is not significant enough to induce detectable magnetic field perturbations in the solar wind. In essence we have not found any clear evidence in the MGS magnetic field data for outgassing or dust escape from the martian moons.     

电离层赤道异常两日振荡的数值模拟

近20年来,国外学者对电离层赤道异常问题的数值模拟研究未考虑到大气行星波对潮汐发电机电场的调制效应,因而不能解释赤道异常峰值的逐日变化.本文结果表明二日波对F_2区电子浓度的输运有很大影响.这一方法可以推广到赤道异常各种长周期行星波振荡的数值研究. 本文从非定常等离子体连续方程出发,建立包含行星波振荡对E×B漂移的调制效应的方程,并给出数值模拟的方法以及可与实际观测进行比较的结果.文中取二日波漂移振幅为U_p=0 m/s、5m/s、10m/s,而初位相分别为φ=0°、90°共四种情形进行了模拟,结果表明,二日波的调制可使赤道异常的时空分布以及异常峰值产生明显的逐日变化.在所选取的模型中,取U_p=5m/s,φ=0°所得到的f_0F_2t的二日分布特征与观测较吻合.而u_p约5m/s的变化能引起异常峰值f_0F_2约1-2MHz的起伏,而二天之内f_0F_2的二个峰值表现出约2-4MHz的起伏.     

HST observations of azimuthal asymmetry in Saturn's rings

From 378 Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images obtained between 1996-2004, we have measured the detailed nature of azimuthal brightness variations in Saturn's rings. The extensive geometric coverage, high spatial resolution (), and photometric precision of the UBVRI images have enabled us to determine the dependence of the asymmetry amplitude and longitude of minimum brightness on orbital radius, ring elevation, wavelength, solar phase angle, and solar longitude. We explore a suite of dynamical models of self-gravity wakes for two particle size distributions: a single size and a power law distribution spanning a decade in particle radius. From these N-body simulations, we calculate the resultant wake-driven brightness asymmetry for any given illumination and viewing geometry. The models reproduce many of the observed properties of the asymmetry, including the shape and location of the brightness minimum and the trends with ring elevation and solar longitude. They also account for the “tilt effect” in the A and B rings: the change in mean ring brightness with effective ring opening angle, |Beff|. The predicted asymmetry depends sensitively on dynamical ring particle properties such as the coefficient of restitution and internal mass density, and relatively weakly on photometric parameters such as albedo and scattering phase function. The asymmetry is strongest in the A ring, reaching a maximum amplitude A∼25% near a=128,000 km. Here, the observations are well-matched by an internal particle density near 450 kg m⁻³ and a narrow particle size distribution. The B ring shows significant asymmetry (∼5%) in regions of relatively low optical depth (τ∼0.7). In the middle and outer B ring, where τ?1, the asymmetry is much weaker (∼1%), and in the C ring, A<0.5%. The asymmetry diminishes near opposition and at shorter wavelengths, where the albedo of the ring particles is lower and multiple-scattering effects are diminished. The asymmetry amplitude varies strongly with ring elevation angle, reaching a peak near |Beff|=10° in the A ring and at |Beff|=15-20° in the B ring. These trends provide an estimate of the thickness of the self-gravity wakes responsible for the asymmetry. Local radial variations in the amplitude of the asymmetry within both the A and B rings are probably caused by regional differences in the particle size distribution.     

Planetesimal formation by turbulent concentration

The formation of 1-1000 km diameter planetesimals from dust grains in a protoplanetary disk is a key step in planet formation. Conventional models for planetesimal formation involve pairwise sticking of dust grains, or the sedimentation of dust grains to a thin layer at the disk midplane followed by gravitational instability. Each of these mechanisms is likely to be frustrated if the disk is turbulent. Particles with stopping times comparable to the turnover time of the smallest eddies in a turbulent disk can become concentrated into dense clumps that may be the precursors of planetesimals. Such particles are roughly millimeter-sized for a typical protoplanetary disk. To survive to become planetesimals, clumps need to form in regions of low vorticity to avoid rotational breakup. In addition, clumps must have sufficient self gravity to avoid break up due to the ram pressure of the surrounding gas. Given these constraints, the rate of planetesimal formation can be estimated using a cascade model for the distribution of particle concentration and vorticity within eddies of various sizes in a turbulent disk. We estimate planetesimal formation rates and planetesimal diameters as a function of distance from a star for a range of protoplanetary disk parameters. For material with a solar composition, the dust-to-gas ratio is too low to allow efficient planetesimal formation, and most solid material will remain in small particles. Enhancement of the dust-to-gas ratio by 1-2 orders of magnitude, either vertically or radially, allows most solid material to be converted into planetesimals within the typical lifetime of a disk. Such dust-to-gas ratios may occur near the disk midplane as a result of vertical settling of short-lived clumps prior to clump breakup. Planetesimal formation rates are sensitive to the assumed size and rotational speed of the largest eddies in the disk, and formation rates increase substantially if the largest eddies rotate more slowly than the disk itself. Planetesimal formation becomes more efficient with increasing distance from the star unless the disk surface density profile has a slope of −1.5 or steeper as a function of distance. Planetesimal formation rates typically increase by an order-of-magnitude or more moving outward across the snow line for a solid surface density increase of a factor of 2. In all cases considered, the modal planetesimal size increases with roughly the square root of distance from the star. Typical modal diameters are 100 km and 400 km in the regions corresponding to the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt in the Solar System, respectively.     

Incorporation of argon, krypton and xenon into clathrates on Mars

Calculations of the trapping of heavy noble gases within multiple guest clathrates under Mars-like conditions show that a substantial fraction of the martian Xe, perhaps even the vast majority, could be in clathrates. In addition, the Xe/Kr ratio in the clathrates would probably be much higher than in the atmosphere, so the formation or dissociation of a relatively small amount of clathrate could measurably change the atmospheric ratio. Relatively crude (factor of 2) measurements of the seasonal variability in that ratio by in situ spacecraft would be sensitive to ∼10% of the seasonal atmospheric CO₂ variability being a result of clathrates, rather than pure CO₂ frost. In addition, sequestration of Xe in clathrates remains a viable mechanism for explaining the variable Xe/Kr ratios seen in different suites of martian meteorites.