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ABOUT THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF HYDROCARBON LAKES IN THE ORIGIN OF TITAN'S NOBLE GAS ATMOSPHERIC DEPLETION
- Source :
- The Astrophysical journal letters, The Astrophysical journal letters, Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2010, 721, pp.L117-L120, The Astrophysical journal letters, 2010, 721, pp.L117-L120. ⟨10.1088/2041-8205/721/2/L117⟩, The Astrophysical journal letters, Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2010, 721, pp.L117-L120. ⟨10.1088/2041-8205/721/2/L117⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2010
- Publisher :
- American Astronomical Society, 2010.
-
Abstract
- An unexpected feature of Titan's atmosphere is the strong depletion in primordial noble gases revealed by the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer aboard the Huygens probe during its descent on 2005 January 14. Although several plausible explanations have already been formulated, no definitive response to this issue has been yet found. Here, we investigate the possible sequestration of these noble gases in the liquid contained in lakes and wet terrains on Titan and the consequences for their atmospheric abundances. Considering the atmosphere and the liquid existing on the soil as a whole system, we compute the abundance of each noble gas relative to nitrogen. To do so, we make the assumption of thermodynamic equilibrium between the liquid and the atmosphere, the abundances of the different constituents being determined via {\bf } regular solution theory. We find that xenon's atmospheric depletion can be explained by its dissolution at ambient temperature in the liquid presumably present on Titan's soil. In the cases of argon and krypton, we find that the fractions incorporated in the liquid are negligible, implying that an alternative mechanism must be invoked to explain their atmospheric depletion.<br />Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure
- Subjects :
- 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Thermodynamic equilibrium
FOS: Physical sciences
chemistry.chemical_element
01 natural sciences
Astrobiology
symbols.namesake
[SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology
Xenon
0103 physical sciences
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Dissolution
ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Argon
Krypton
Noble gas
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Nitrogen
chemistry
[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
symbols
Environmental science
Titan (rocket family)
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20418213 and 20418205
- Volume :
- 721
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....930fbe55e7d0278af3dce1b6f7cb2950