Description
Similar to Earth, the environment identified on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, demonstrates a unique atmosphere. This is because it is one of the only bodies within our solar system capable of maintaining a stable liquid on its surface. Notably, Titan’s methane cycle includes meteorological phenomena that parallels Earth’s hydrological cycle; however, the presence of cyclones has not been directly explored on this distant moon. To investigate contributions of moist convection, this study aims to verify if cyclones (on the synoptic- or meso- scale) can be identified on Titan’s surface. Because the potential for cyclonic activity appears most likely over the northern seas in late northern spring and summer from 2015 to 2021 (Tokano, 2013), data from Cassini’s second extended mission, between 2015 - 2017, will be analyzed. Spectral cubes from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) will be processed through the Python package Pyvims. Because classic signatures like spiral rainbands may not exist on Titan, the characteristic we seek to help identify intense storms is overshooting cloud tops (OCTs). With VIMS, cloud-top brightness temperatures, and temporal/spatial patterns, will be acquired; comparisons between calculated and observed spectra (with machine learning techniques) will also be utilized in identifying OCTs surpassing background stratiform clouds. If possible, approaches from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) algorithm will be adopted. However, direct application of MODIS for Titan’s atmosphere is not feasible; thus, CO$_2$ slicing will be replaced with CH$_4$ slicing. We anticipate that data from Cassini VIMS may produce evidence of strong updrafts related to convective and cyclonic events. Findings could deepen our understanding of the influence of volatile atmospheric composition on cyclone formation, hold significance for future mesoscale models distinguishing properties at the Dragonfly mission site, and enhance our knowledge of cyclonic parameters.