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Experimental simulations of CH 4 evaporation on Titan
Author(s) -
LuspayKuti A.,
Chevrier V. F.,
Wasiak F. C.,
Roe L. A.,
Welivitiya W. D. D. P.,
Cornet T.,
Singh S.,
RiveraValentin E. G.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2012gl054003
Subject(s) - titan (rocket family) , evaporation , atmospheric sciences , energy balance , buoyancy , mass transfer , materials science , latitude , environmental science , thermodynamics , physics , astrobiology , astronomy
We present the first experimental results on the evaporation of liquid CH 4 under simulated Titan surface conditions similar to those observed at the Huygens landing site. An average evaporation rate of (3.1 ± 0.6) × 10 −4 kg s −1 m −2 at 94 K and 1.5 bar was measured. While our results are generally higher than previous models based on energy balance, they show an excellent match with a theoretical mass transfer approach. Indeed, we find that evaporation in the Titan environmental chamber is predominantly diffusion driven and affected by the buoyancy of lighter CH 4 in the heavier N 2 atmosphere. After correcting for the difference in gravity of Earth and Titan, the resulting evaporation rate is (1.6 ± 0.3) × 10 −4 kg s −1 m −2 (or 1.13 ± 0.3 mm hr −1 ). Using our experimental evaporation rates, we determine that the low‐latitude storm recently observed by Cassini ISS would have resulted in a maximum evaporated mass of (5.4 ± 1.2) × 10 10 kg of CH 4 equivalent to a 2.4 ± 0.5 m thick layer over 80 days. Based on our results, a sufficient amount of CH 4 can accumulate in the otherwise arid equatorial regions to produce transient ponds and liquid flows.