D to H ratio and the origin and evolution of Titan's atmosphere

A rigid, monolithic but still scannable cavity ring-down spectroscopy cell

A novel cell for continuous wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (cw-CRDS) is described and tested. The cell is monolithic and maintains a rigid alignment of the two cavity mirrors. Two high-resolution and high-force piezoelectric transducers are used to sweep the length of the cell by elastic deformation of the 2.86 cm outer diameter stainless steel tube that makes up the body of the cell. The cavity length is scanned more than 1/2 wavelength of the near-IR light used, which ensures that at least one TEM(00) mode of the cavity will pass through resonance with the laser. This allows the use of a frequency-locked-laser cw-CRDS technique, which increases the precision of the measurements compared to the alternative of sweeping the laser more than one free spectral range of the cavity. The performance of the cell is demonstrated by using it to detect the absorption spectrum of methane (CH(4)) at the wavenumber regions of around 6051.8-6057.7 cm(-1).

On the origin of Titan's atmosphere

The present atmosphere of Titan exhibits evidence of extensive evolution, in the form of rapid photochemical destruction of methane and a large fractionation of the nitrogen and oxygen isotopes. Attempts to recover the initial inventory of volatiles lead toward a model in which nitrogen was originally supplied as NH3, essentially unmodified from its relative abundance in the outer solar nebula. Titan's atmospheric methane, in contrast, appears to have been formed from carbon and other carbon compounds, either by gas phase reactions in the subnebula or by accretional heating during the formation of Titan. These conclusions can be tested by further studies of abundances and isotope ratios in Titan's atmosphere, augmented by studies of comets. The possible similarity of carbon and nitrogen inventories on Titan to those on the inner planets makes this investigation particularly intriguing.

On the volatile inventory of Titan from isotopic abundances in nitrogen and methane

We analyze recently published nitrogen and hydrogen isotopic data to constrain the initial volatile abundances on Saturn's giant moon Titan. The nitrogen data are interpreted in terms of a model of non-thermal escape processes that lead to enhancement in the heavier isotope. We show that these data do not, in fact, strongly constrain the abundance of nitrogen present in Titan's early atmosphere, and that a wide range of initial atmospheric masses (all larger than the present value) can yield the measured enhancement. The enrichment in deuterated methane is now much better determined than it was when Pinto et al. (1986. Nature 319, 388-390) first proposed a photochemical mechanism to preferentially retain the deuterium. We develop a simple linear theory to provide a more reliable estimate of the relative dissociation rates of normal and deuterated methane. We utilize the improved data and models to compute initial methane reservoirs consistent with the observed enhancement. The result of this analysis agrees with an independent estimate for the initial methane abundance based solely on the present-day rate of photolysis and an assumption of steady state. This consistency in reservoir size is necessary but not sufficient to infer that methane photolysis has proceeded steadily over the age of the solar system to produce large quantities of less volatile organics. Our analysis indicates an epoch of early atmospheric escape of nitrogen, followed by a later addition of methane by outgassing from the interior. The results also suggest that Titan's volatile inventory came in part or largely from a circum-Saturnian disk of material more reducing than the surrounding solar nebula. Many of the ambiguities inherent in the present analysis can be resolved through Cassini-Huygens data and a program of laboratory studies on isotopic and molecular exchange processes. The value of, and interest in, the Cassini-Huygens data can be greatly enhanced if such a program were undertaken prior to the prime phase of the mission.

Isotopic ratios in planetary atmospheres

Recent progress on measurements of isotopic ratios in planetary or satellite atmospheres include measurements of the D/H ratio in the methane of Uranus, Neptune and Titan and in the water of Mars and Venus. Implications of these measurements on our understanding of the formation and evolution of the planets and satellite are discussed. Our current knowledge of the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios in the atmospheres of these planets, as well as on Jupiter and Saturn, is also reviewed. We finally show what progress can be expected in the very near future due to some new ground-based instrumentation particularly well suited to such studies, and to forthcoming space missions.

Titan's atmosphere composition: certainties and speculations

Firm results concerning the thermal structure, the composition, the seasonal effects of the atmosphere of Titan, as well as the superotation of its stratosphere are reviewed. The nature of the surface of the satellite, the possible presence of argon in the atmosphere and the structure and composition of clouds and aerosols are, among other topics, still speculative. The implications of the observed deuterium enrichment on the origin of ices in the outer part of the nebula are controversial.

Deuterium enrichment in the primitive ices of the protosolar nebula

We have estimated the D/H ratio that may have been present in the primitive ices in the protosolar nebula. Using observations of the CH3D/CH4 ratio in the outer planets, we developed two simple but limiting models which constrain the amount of dilution that deuterated volatiles which were contributed to the planetary atmospheres by evaporated primordial ices may have undergone by mixing with the original hydrogen envelopes. The models suggest that the D/H ratio in these ices was probably somewhere between a few times 10(-4) and 10(-3). These planetary-atmosphere-derived results are compared with other solar system bodies thought to contain primitive material and with D/H ratios observed in interstellar polyatomic molecules.

Origin and Evolution of Outer Solar System Atmospheres

The atmospheres of bodies in the outer solar system are distinct in composition from those of the inner planets and provide a complementary set of clues to the origin of the solar system. This article reviews current understanding of the origin and evolution of these atmospheres on the basis of abundances of key molecular species. The systematic enrichment of methane and deuterated species from Jupiter to Neptune is consistent with formation models in which significant infall of icy and rocky planetesimals accompanies the formation of giant planets. The atmosphere of the Saturnian satellite Titan has been strongly modified by photochemistry and interaction with the surface over 4.5 billion years; the combined knowledge of this moon's bulk density and estimates of the composition of the surface and atmosphere provide some constraints on this body's formation. Neptune's satellite Triton is a poorly known object for which it is hoped that substantial information will be gleaned from the Voyager 2 encounter in August 1989. The mean density of the Pluto-Charon system is well known and suggests an origin in the rather water-poor solar nebula. The recent occultation of a star by Pluto provides evidence that carbon monoxide, in addition to methane, may be present in its atmosphere.

Kinetic isotopic fractionation and the origin of HDO and CH3D in the Solar System

It is argued that photochemical processes, driven by ultraviolet starlight, could lead to large deuterium fractionation for H2O and CH4 relative to H2 in the primitive solar nebula. Implications for deuterium enrichment observed in planetary atmospheres are briefly discussed.

Comets and life

Some of the chemical species which have been detected in comets include H2O, HCN, CH3CN, CO, CO2, NH3, CS, C2 and C3. All of these have also been detected in the interstellar medium, indicating a probable relationship between interstellar dust and gas clouds and comets. Laboratory experiments carried out with different mixtures of these molecules give rise to the formation of the biochemical compounds which are necessary for life, such as amino acids, purines, pyrimidines, monosaccharides, etc. However, in spite of suggestions to the contrary, the presence of life in comets is unlikely. On the other hand, the capture of cometary matter by the primitive Earth is considered essential for the development of life on this planet. The amount of cometary carbon-containing matter captured by the Earth, as calculated by different authors, is several times larger than the total amount of organic matter present in the biosphere (10(18)g). The major classes of reactions which were probably involved in the formation of key biochemical compounds are discussed. Our tentative conclusions are that: 1) comets played a predominant role in the emergence of life on our planet, and 2) they are the cosmic connection with extraterrestrial life.