Kinetic Modelling of Global Evolution of Titan's Atmosphere

Abstract

Methane CH4 is the only highly reactive and short-lived background component in Titan's atmosphere, so its overall reserve predetermines both features and duration of atmospheric chemical activity. Current methane atmospheric abundance is provided by its global circulation. There are two sources of methane replenishment, i.e. recycling of the primordial reserve trapped in Titan's interior and reconversion of non-saturated final products of the atmospheric photochemical process, reconversion being the minor constituent in the global methane balance. The total bulk of primordial methane gas hydrate depends on the packing index (cage-filling efficiency) α, the latter being limited to 7.2 × 10−4< α < 5 × 10−2 {kg CH4/kg clathrate}. The specification of α seems to be one of the most relevant problems of the experimental modelling of Titan's chemistry. The total number of methane renewal cycles so far equals Np ∼ 200.