Descripción del proyecto
Nuevos modelos climático para explorar Titán
En Titán, una de las lunas de Saturno, llueve metano. Si bien esto se debe a las temperaturas criogénicas del satélite, aún no se comprende del todo cómo se posicionan las nubes y se producen las precipitaciones (descubiertos por misiones recientes). Para cerrar esta brecha del conocimiento, los científicos están desarrollando modelos climáticos, pero carecen de descripciones físicas fundamentales, en concreto, las interacciones entre el aire y la superficie. En este sentido, el proyecto TLALOC, financiado con fondos europeos, reúne a expertos de Europa y Estados Unidos para desarrollar un modelo general de nueva generación de Titán que permita examinar la influencia de lagos y humedales, así como los efectos estacionales y los impactos de las tormentas de metano. Una vez finalizado, el proyecto proporcionará el primer modelo avanzado capaz de reproducir el ciclo hidrológico de Titán e interpretar las observaciones de nubes y precipitaciones.
Objetivo
Saturn’s moon Titan is the only world in the Solar System besides Earth where rains reach the surface. Due to the cryogenic temperatures, these rains are not made of water but of methane. It accumulates in polar lakes and mud terrains, which seasonally evaporate, producing a methane hydrological cycle. Cloud localisations and precipitation events unveiled by recent missions are still not well understood. Climate models would help this endeavor, but they are currently missing crucial physical descriptions (especially air-surface interactions).
The T’LALOC project aims to solve Titan’s complex methane cycle by developing a model to address the currently open key questions: (Q1) the influence of lakes and wetlands; (Q2) seasonal effects; and, (Q3) methane storm impacts. We will obtain an unprecedented next-generation Titan global climate model by incorporating and improving building blocks from three existing regional models developed at SwRI, LMD and UPV/EHU. Each of these models individually specializes in one of the issues above (Q1-2-3). Upon completion we will obtain the first advanced model able to reproduce the hydrological cycle and interpret observations of clouds and rain events. The project will start at a strategic timing: close to the end of the Cassini-Huygens mission (2004-2017), at the first light of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, 2022), during the preparation of the Dragonfly mission (launch in 2026) and at the definition of a future EU mission. The large set of data by Cassini and the new data by JWST have to be exploited in urgency to improve our current atmospheric models and to be able to simulate weather conditions at the surface, which impacts the Dragonfly rotorcraft operations and science return. This project brings together world leaders in Titan climate modelling from the US and EU, sows the seeds for collaboration on future missions to Titan, and positions the fellow and the host EU teams as references in Titan climate modelling.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesnatural satellites
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringaircraftrotorcraft
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomy
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
48940 Leioa
España