First Steps Towards a New Saturn Ionosphere Model Including Ring-Planet Coupling and Electrodynamics

The Cassini Grand Finale revealed that there is still much that we do not understand about Saturn’s upper atmosphere. In-situ observations reveal highly complex coupling between the planetary atmosphere and rings and inter-hemispheric electrodynamic coupling at latitudes that are magnetically connected to the intra D-ring region in the magnetosphere. Current Saturn models are ill-suited to treating electrodynamics and ring-planet interactions at Saturn. Thus, we adapt SAMI, a well-known terrestrial ionosphere model that is flux-tube based and already includes electrodynamics, to Saturn, with the aim of using it in conjunction with existing Saturn models such as the STIM-GCM (Saturn Thermosphere Ionosphere Model) to decipher the long-standing unexplained morphologies in Saturn’s ionosphere and investigate the ring-atmosphere coupling and electrodynamics revealed by the Cassini end-of-mission data. We will present initial results having adapted SAMI to Saturn, showing the full extent of the atmospheric chemistry and model capabilities at present. We will discuss future directions of development towards the construction of the new model capable of resolving the complex ring-atmosphere coupling and electrodynamics, and the possibility of adapting this model to other planets.