A High-Level Description of Titan’s Winds

A high-level description of Titan’s wind field is a useful tool for two reasons. First, as a series of simple statements, one can convey succinctly to the public how Titan’s weather differs from that on Earth or Mars, for example.  Second, those statements can be mapped to an algorithmic specification (i.e. lines of code) to generate tables or maps of numerical values, and such a program is a much more compact and convenient construct to use in modeling of meteorological or geomorphological processes or in planetary mission design than are tables themselves.

Here I overview such a description, guided by the Huygens descent measurements obtained 20 years ago, subsequent Cassini and groundbased observations, and global circulation model outputs.  The most prominent feature to be captured is the seasonal evolution of the stratospheric zonal wind at mid/high latitude (analogous to the jetstream encountered in terrestrial aviation).

 Results from this effort may contribute to the next generation of the NASA Titan-GRAM (Global Reference Atmosphere Model) tool.