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Origin and Evolution of Nitrogen on Titan, Enceladus, Triton, and PlutoNitrogen, together with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur (CHNOPS), plays a central role in life as we know it. Indeed, molecular nitrogen is the most abundant component of the terrestrial atmosphere, and second only to carbon dioxide on Mars and Venus. The Voyager and Cassini-Huygens observations show that copious nitrogen is present on Titan also, comprising some 95% by volume of this moon's 1500 millibar atmosphere. After water vapor, it may be the most abundant (4%) of the gases around tiny Enceladus, as revealed by the recent Cassini observations. A thin nitrogen atmosphere is found even on the coldest of the solar system bodies, Triton and Pluto. The available evidence on nitrogen isotopes and the heavy noble gases suggests that Titan acquired its nitrogen largely in the form of ammonia. Subsequent chemical evolution, beginning with the photolysis of NH3 on primordial Titan, led to the nitrogen atmosphere we see on Titan today. This is also the scenario for the origin of nitrogen on the terrestrial planets. Contrary to Titan, the colder outer solar system objects, Triton and Pluto, neither had the luxury of receiving much arnmonia in the first place, nor of photolyzing whatever little ammonia they did receive in the planetesimals that formed them. On the other hand, it is plausible the planetesimals were capable of trapping and delivering molecular nitrogen directly to Triton and Pluto, unlike Titan. The origin of nitrogen on Enceladus is somewhat enigmatic. A scenario similar to Titan's, but with a role for the interior processes, may be at work. In this paper, we will discuss the source and loss of nitrogen for the above objects, and why Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, is nitrogen starved.
Document ID
20070010749
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Atreya, S. K.
(Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Niemann, H. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mahaffy, P. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Owen, T. C.
(Hawaii Univ. United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2007
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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