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The Early Evolution of the Atmospheres of Terrestrial Planets pp 107–122Cite as

Formation of a Nitrogen-Rich Atmosphere on Titan: A Review of Pre- and Post-Cassini-Huygens Knowledge

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Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings ((ASSSP,volume 35))

Abstract

This paper reviews pre- and post-Cassini-Huygens knowledge on the formation mechanisms of a N2 atmosphere on Titan. Before the arrival of Cassini, it has been generally considered that Titan’s N2 was formed as a result of a major differentiation during accretion and subsequent chemical reactions (such as shock heating and photolysis) in a hot and prolonged proto-atmosphere, mainly composed of NH3 and CH4. However, gravitational data provided by Cassini has revealed that Titan’s core consists of a low-density material, suggesting that it remains relatively cold throughout its history. In this case, Titan’s proto-atmosphere would have been only tenuous and short-lived, implying that the formation of N2 may not have occurred effectively during accretion. Furthermore, the direct measurements of Enceladus’ plumes suggest that the chemical composition of planetesimals that formed the Saturnian satellites was highly likely comet-like, namely large amounts of CO2 rather than CH4. This implies that primordial CO2 in Titan’s proto-atmosphere would have been converted into abundant CO via all of the proposed mechanisms that converted NH3 to N2. Recent experiments suggest that even if early Titan was relatively cold, cometary impacts during the late heavy bombardment can produce sufficient amounts of N2 from NH3 contained in Titan. Nevertheless, impacts also could have produced lots of CO as well as N2. Although the recent findings by Cassini-Huygens support the idea that Titan was formed in a gas-starved Saturnian subnebula, there is no scenario that can account for both the formation of the Saturnian satellites in a gas-starved disk and the generation of a thick N2–rich atmosphere on Titan. We discuss the unanswered problems arisen by Cassini and future studies that attempt to resolve them.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly appreciate Josep M. Trigo-Rodriguez for the arrangements of this book and the meeting on “Nitrogen in Planetary Systems: the early evolution of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets” in Barcelona, September 2011. Support from Grants in Aid from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science is also acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8561, Japan

    Yasuhito Sekine

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  1. Yasuhito Sekine
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Correspondence to Yasuhito Sekine .

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  1. Campus UAB, Sciences Faculty, Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC-IEEC), 2nd Floor, Tower C-5 even, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain

    J.M. Trigo-Rodriguez

  2. , Université Paris Est Créteil, LISA, UMR CNRS/UPEC/UPD/IPSL, avenue du Général de Gaulle 61, Créteil CX, 94010, France

    François Raulin

  3. , Earth and Space Science Coordination, B.USOC, Avenue Circulaire 3, Brussels, 1180, Belgium

    Christian Muller

  4. , Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, Stadium Dr., Greenbelt, 20742, USA

    Conor Nixon

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Sekine, Y. (2013). Formation of a Nitrogen-Rich Atmosphere on Titan: A Review of Pre- and Post-Cassini-Huygens Knowledge. In: Trigo-Rodriguez, J., Raulin, F., Muller, C., Nixon, C. (eds) The Early Evolution of the Atmospheres of Terrestrial Planets. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol 35. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5191-4_9

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