Jonathan Mitchell, of the University of California, Los Angeles, will present "Titan's Weather, Climate and Winds".

Abstract:

Titan's atmosphere is laden with methane vapor, the equivalent of an approxomately 5-meter global ocean. I will demonstrate how the coupling of methane thermodynamics to Titan's large-scale circulation limits cloud coverage and duration, defines climate zones and damps the seasonal cycle of temperatures. Cassini and ground-based observations are beginning to reveal these effects in the seasonality of methane clouds and the latitudinal distribution of surface morphologies. I will also discuss dynamical mechanisms leading to the phenomenon of atmospheric superrotation in Titan's atmosphere including a possible explanation for the orientation of prograde surface winds revealed in Titan's equatorial dunes.