NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Internal gravity waves in Titan's atmosphere observed by Voyager radio occultationThe radio scintillations caused by scattering from small-scale irregularities in Titan's neutral atmosphere during a radio occultation of Voyager 1 by Titan are investigated. Intensity and frequency fluctuations occurred on time scales from about 0.1 to 1.0 sec at 3.6 and 13 cm wavelengths whenever the radio path passed within 90 km of the surface, indicating the presence of variations in refractivity on length scales from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers. Above 25 km, the altitude profile of intensity scintillations closely agrees with the predictions of a simple theory based on the characteristics of internal gravity waves propagating with little or no attenuation through the vertical stratification in Titan's atmosphere. These observations support a hypothesis of stratospheric gravity waves, possibly driven by a cloud-free convective region in the lowest few kilometers of the stratosphere.
Document ID
19830054520
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Hinson, D. P.
(Stanford Univ. CA, United States)
Tyler, G. L.
(Stanford University Stanford, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1983
Publication Information
ISSN: 0019-1035
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
83A35738
Funding Number(s)
OTHER: NGL-05-020-014
PROJECT: PROJECT VOYAGER
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available