AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Editors' Highlight

Heavy negative ions on Titan

Saturn's moon Titan has a thick atmosphere, formed mostly of nitrogen with a small amount of methane. Observations from the Cassini spacecraft have shown that Titan's ionosphere, extending from 950 to 1200 km in altitude, contains a rich positive ion population and some negative ions. Coates et al. (2007) present a comprehensive view of these negative ions using Cassini data, showing that heavy ion chemistry takes place in Titan's upper atmosphere at altitudes much higher than had been predicted by models, and that throughout the ionosphere, a large population of negative ions exist. Because of this large population, anions might play an important role in ionospheric dynamics, particularly in the formation of organic-rich aerosols that eventually fall to the surface. Thus the abundance and behavior of negative ions on Titan may have long-term effects on the composition of the moon's surface.

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