PROTOSOLAR AMMONIA AS THE UNIQUE SOURCE OF TITAN's NITROGEN

Mandt, K.; Mousis, O.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Gautier, D.

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/788/2/l24

Cited by 89 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…A lower primordial D/H suggests, then, that Titan's methane is primordial (Mousis et al 2009a). Furthermore, limitations on the evolution of 14 N/ 15 N in Titan's atmosphere place the primordial 14 N/ 15 N for Titan well within the range for primordial NH 3 in the PSN (Mandt et al 2014), suggesting that Titan's nitrogen originated as NH 3 . These constraints point to an origin of Titan's building blocks in the PSN (Mousis et al 2009a;Mandt et al 2014), but still require depletion in N 2 , CO and possibly 36 Ar.…”

Section: Titanmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Furthermore, limitations on the evolution of 14 N/ 15 N in Titan's atmosphere place the primordial 14 N/ 15 N for Titan well within the range for primordial NH 3 in the PSN (Mandt et al 2014), suggesting that Titan's nitrogen originated as NH 3 . These constraints point to an origin of Titan's building blocks in the PSN (Mousis et al 2009a;Mandt et al 2014), but still require depletion in N 2 , CO and possibly 36 Ar. This depletion can be explained by migration of the building blocks from the PSN into the warmer Saturnian subnebula (Canup andWard 2002, 2006) where some partial devolatilization occurred (Mousis et al 2009a;Mandt et al 2014).…”

Section: Titanmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Prinn and Fegley 1989), although some may have formed from building blocks formed earlier in the PSN that migrated into the subnebula (e.g. Mousis et al, 2009aMousis et al, , 2009bMandt et al 2014). Others are thought to be planetesimals that were captured by the planet (e.g.…”

Section: Formation Of Planets Moons and Small Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, they can be used to determine the primordial form of volatiles delivered to a solar system body (e.g. Mandt et al 2014).…”

Section: C H O and Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The D/H in water at Titan can be presumed to be in the same range as Xe/N Xe < 5 × 10 −9c -2 .58 × 10 −6d was determined for Enceladus (Waite et al 2009;Mousis et al 2009a). The limited range of values for primordial D/H in methane is based on limits placed by the evolution of 12 C/ 13 C in Titan's methane (Mandt et al 2009(Mandt et al , 2012, while the upper limit for 14 N/ 15 N in Titan's nitrogen inventory is based on the maximum possible fractionation allowed due to escape processes (Mandt et al 2014). …”

Section: Enceladusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Constraints from Comets on the Formation and Volatile Acquisition of the Planets and Satellites

et al. 2015

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Comets play a dual role in understanding the formation and evolution of the solar system. First, the composition of comets provides information about the origin of the giant planets and their moons because comets formed early and their composition is not expected to have evolved significantly since formation. They, therefore serve as a record of conditions during the early stages of solar system formation. Once comets had formed, their orbits were perturbed allowing them to travel into the inner solar system and impact the planets. In this way they contributed to the volatile inventory of planetary atmospheres. We review here how knowledge of comet composition up to the time of the Rosetta mission has contributed to understanding the formation processes of the giant planets, their moons and small icy bodies in the solar system. We also discuss how comets contributed to the volatile inventories of the giant and terrestrial planets.

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Section: Titanmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Titanmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Formation Of Planets Moons and Small Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, they can be used to determine the primordial form of volatiles delivered to a solar system body (e.g. Mandt et al 2014).…”

Section: C H O and Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Enceladusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Constraints from Comets on the Formation and Volatile Acquisition of the Planets and Satellites

et al. 2015

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Titan's atmosphere and climate

2017

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Titan is the only moon with a substantial atmosphere, the only other thick N2 atmosphere besides Earth's, the site of extraordinarily complex atmospheric chemistry that far surpasses any other solar system atmosphere, and the only other solar system body with stable liquid currently on its surface. The connection between Titan's surface and atmosphere is also unique in our solar system; atmospheric chemistry produces materials that are deposited on the surface and subsequently altered by surface‐atmosphere interactions such as aeolian and fluvial processes resulting in the formation of extensive dune fields and expansive lakes and seas. Titan's atmosphere is favorable for organic haze formation, which combined with the presence of some oxygen‐bearing molecules indicates that Titan's atmosphere may produce molecules of prebiotic interest. The combination of organics and liquid, in the form of water in a subsurface ocean and methane/ethane in the surface lakes and seas, means that Titan may be the ideal place in the solar system to test ideas about habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and the ubiquity and diversity of life in the universe. The Cassini‐Huygens mission to the Saturn system has provided a wealth of new information allowing for study of Titan as a complex system. Here I review our current understanding of Titan's atmosphere and climate forged from the powerful combination of Earth‐based observations, remote sensing and in situ spacecraft measurements, laboratory experiments, and models. I conclude with some of our remaining unanswered questions as the incredible era of exploration with Cassini‐Huygens comes to an end.

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