2025/07/14 by Andrew Powell, Andi Petculescu, Powell, Andrew +9
Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Altitude (triangle) #Astro and Planetary Science #Atmosphere (unit) #Attenuation #Attenuation coefficient #Constant (computer programming) #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Phase (matter) #Planetary Science and Exploration #Range (aeronautics) #Thermal conductivity #Troposphere #Wavenumber
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2507.10478
published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)
openalex publication_date 2025/07/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Predictions for the acoustic attenuation coefficient and phase speed as functions of frequency and altitude in Saturn's atmosphere are presented and discussed. The pressure range considered in the study is 1 mbar to 1 bar, in windless and cloudless conditions. The atmospheric composition is represented by the major constituents, namely hydrogen (with its two spin isomers, ortho-H2 and para-H2) and helium. The H2 and He concentrations are assumed constant with respect to altitude; however, non-uniform ortho- and para-H2 profiles are considered. The acoustic wavenumber is obtained by incorporating a viscous, thermal, and internal molecular relaxation effects in a linearized fluid dynamics model. The ambient inputs are vertical profiles of the specific heats, shear viscosity, and thermal conductivity coefficients of the three-component (oH2, pH2, He) mixture, extracted at each pressure-temperature pair. The authors acknowledge funding from NASA-Ames Center for Innovation Fund (CIF).