Gravitational atmospheric tides as a probe of Titan’s interior: application to Dragonfly
- 1Observatoire de Paris, LESIA, CNRS, Meudon, France (benjamin.charnay@obspm.fr)
- 2Laboratoire de Planétologie de Nantes, CNRS, Nantes, France
- 3Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL/CNRS), Paris, France
- 4Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, MD, USA
Just as Saturn’s massive gravity causes tides both in Titan’s interior as well as its surface seas, it causes a tide in the atmosphere (Lorenz 1992; Tokano & Neubauer 2002). Previous modelling work with a 3D Global Climate Model found that gravitational tides should produce a surface pressure variation of ∼1.5 hPa through the orbit of Titan and tidal winds in the troposphere (Tokano & Neubauer 2002). Here, we revisit gravitational atmospheric tides on Titan with analytical calculations and with a 3D Global Climate Model (the IPSL-Titan GCM). We show that the surface pressure field quickly adjust to the tidal potential, strongly decreasing the amplitude of tidal winds. We analyze the impact of the deformation of Titan’s interior and crust on the amplitude of the tidal pressure variations. Finally, we discuss how measurements of pressure variations by Dragonfly could help to constrain Titan’s interior and crust.
How to cite: Charnay, B., Tobie, G., Lebonnois, S., and Lorenz, R.: Gravitational atmospheric tides as a probe of Titan’s interior: application to Dragonfly, European Planetary Science Congress 2021, online, 13–24 Sep 2021, EPSC2021-245, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2021-245, 2021.
