Aerosol Component of the Atmosphere of Saturn: Comparison of the Vertical Structure Characteristics in Latitudinal Belts

Abstract

The altitude dependences of the aerosol and gas scattering components of the effective optical depth in the latitudinal belts of Saturn’s Northern Hemisphere have been obtained from the reflectance spectra in the methane absorption bands at λ = 727 and 619 nm measured in 2015. Zonal characteristics of the vertical structure of the cloud cover of Saturn have been estimated. In the latitudinal belts, the aerosol, the relative concentration of which monotonically decreases with depth in the atmosphere, was found, and no signs of substantial cloud clusterings and rarefactions were observed. The largest and smallest aerosol amounts were determined at the latitudes of 49° N and 80° N, respectively. The altitude levels where the sizes of aerosol particles or their nature may change were revealed. We failed to determine the atmospheric level where the relative concentration of aerosol particles is largest; however, the character of the obtained dependences suggests that such a level is probably in the higher layers of the atmosphere of the giant planet.