Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Evolution of Staircase Structures in Diffusive Convection
Published on: September 5, 2018
The evolution of Titan's mid-latitude clouds
C A Griffith1, P Penteado, K Baines
1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Abstract:
Spectra from Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer reveal that the horizontal structure, height, and optical depth of Titan's clouds are highly dynamic. Vigorous cloud centers are seen to rise from the middle to the upper troposphere within 30 minutes and dissipate within the next hour. Their development indicates that Titan's clouds evolve convectively; dissipate through rain; and, over the next several hours, waft downwind to achieve their great longitude extents. These and other characteristics suggest that temperate clouds originate from circulation-induced convergence, in addition to a forcing at the surface associated with Saturn's tides, geology, and/or surface composition.
Related Concept Videos
What is Climate?
Precipitation Processes
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Variation of Atmospheric Pressure
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...
Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling
Boundary Layer Characteristics

