Upcoming SwRI Boulder Colloquia

Colloquia are normally on Tuesdays at 11:00 am in the 4th-floor conference room, except as indicated below in bold text.
Show previous colloquia
Suggest a New Speaker

For questions or suggestions for speakers, please contact the SwRI colloquium organizers:
Raluca Rufu, 303-226-0879 or raluca(at)boulder.swri.edu
Julien Salmon, 720-208-7203 or julien(at)boulder.swri.edu
Kelsi Singer, 303-226-5910 or ksinger(at)boulder.swri.edu
Sierra Ferguson, sierra.ferguson(at)swri.org
Rogerio Deienno, rogerio.deienno(at)swri.org
Sam Van Kooten, 303-226-5909 or svankooten(at)boulder.swri.edu

To be added to the SwRI Boulder Colloquia email list, please contact Kelsi Singer, ksinger(at)boulder.swri.edu

Suggest a New Speaker HERE

Tue Mar 18, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Nick Lombardo Yale University Identifying the Drivers of Titan’s Middle Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract: Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is unique among worlds in the Solar System. High in its atmosphere, the photodestruction of Titan’s two dominant molecules (molecular nitrogen and methane) initiates a complex web of chemical reactions that lead to the production of trace molecules and ultimately Titan’s characteristic orange haze. Heating of the haze through the absorption of sunlight leads to Titan’s stratopause, defining the transition from the stratosphere to the mesosphere, collectively referred to as Titan’s middle atmosphere. The thermal, dynamical, and compositional state of Titan’s middle atmosphere undergoes substantial changes as it progresses through its 29.5 Earth-year effective solar orbit. The stratopause is hottest and at its highest altitude during winter, at which time it overlies the coldest region of the stratosphere. At the same time, Titan’s trace molecules are enriched by up to three orders of magnitude relative to their abundance at the summer pole. Encircling this region of enriched molecules and cold stratospheric temperatures is a westerly (eastward moving) jet, with core speeds up to 200 m/s. Over the course of half a Titan year (about 15 Earth-years), these features migrate from one hemisphere to the other. In this talk, I will discuss my recent work constraining the dynamical drivers of Titan’s middle atmospheric circulation. Using a newly developed database for Titan’s seasonally varying radiative species, in conjunction with the three-dimensional Titan Atmospheric Model (TAM) GCM, we will explore how Titan’s seasonally varying composition impacts its circulation. Using this improved model, we will then identify the mechanisms that are responsible for Titan’s seasonally varying dynamics. I will then discuss a new tracer advection scheme that I developed to explore directly how Titan’s winds transport molecules throughout the middle atmosphere. I will also discuss how these findings have impacted plans for future Titan observations and simulations.

Thu Mar 20, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Raluca Rufu SwRI Boulder Origin of compact exoplanetary systems

Tue Mar 25, 2025
In 4th Floor CR + Webex 11:00 am Joe Masiero Caltech/IPAC Asteroid Mineralogy Revealed through Polarimetry and NEO Surveyor Update

Tue Apr 1, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Douglas Hemingway University of Texas Icy ocean world interiors—techniques and implications

Tue Apr 8, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Alessandro Morbidelli Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur Formation and evolution of a protoplanetary disk: combining observations, simulations and cosmochemical constraints

Tue Apr 15, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Krista Soderlund University of Texas at Austin TBD

Tue Apr 22, 2025
In None 11:00 am None NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK DUE TO LUCY FLYBY OPS

Tue Apr 29, 2025
In None 11:00 am None NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK DUE TO LUCY FLYBY OPS

Tue May 6, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Mike Wong University of California-Berkeley TBD

Tue May 20, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Matt Headman University of Idaho TBD

Tue May 27, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Rutu Parekh Jet Propulsion Laboratory TBD

Tue Jun 3, 2025 11:00 am Ian Wong Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) TBD

Tue Jun 17, 2025
In Room 4.615 11:00 am Juan Lora Yale University TBD

Tue Aug 19, 2025
In Room 424 + Webex 11:00 am Antonio F. Bertachini A. Prado Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE TBD

Tue Mar 18, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Nick Lombardo	Yale University	Identifying the Drivers of Titan’s Middle Atmospheric Circulation
	Abstract:	Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is unique among worlds in the Solar System. High in its atmosphere, the photodestruction of Titan’s two dominant molecules (molecular nitrogen and methane) initiates a complex web of chemical reactions that lead to the production of trace molecules and ultimately Titan’s characteristic orange haze. Heating of the haze through the absorption of sunlight leads to Titan’s stratopause, defining the transition from the stratosphere to the mesosphere, collectively referred to as Titan’s middle atmosphere. The thermal, dynamical, and compositional state of Titan’s middle atmosphere undergoes substantial changes as it progresses through its 29.5 Earth-year effective solar orbit. The stratopause is hottest and at its highest altitude during winter, at which time it overlies the coldest region of the stratosphere. At the same time, Titan’s trace molecules are enriched by up to three orders of magnitude relative to their abundance at the summer pole. Encircling this region of enriched molecules and cold stratospheric temperatures is a westerly (eastward moving) jet, with core speeds up to 200 m/s. Over the course of half a Titan year (about 15 Earth-years), these features migrate from one hemisphere to the other. In this talk, I will discuss my recent work constraining the dynamical drivers of Titan’s middle atmospheric circulation. Using a newly developed database for Titan’s seasonally varying radiative species, in conjunction with the three-dimensional Titan Atmospheric Model (TAM) GCM, we will explore how Titan’s seasonally varying composition impacts its circulation. Using this improved model, we will then identify the mechanisms that are responsible for Titan’s seasonally varying dynamics. I will then discuss a new tracer advection scheme that I developed to explore directly how Titan’s winds transport molecules throughout the middle atmosphere. I will also discuss how these findings have impacted plans for future Titan observations and simulations.
Thu Mar 20, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Raluca Rufu	SwRI Boulder	Origin of compact exoplanetary systems
Tue Mar 25, 2025 In 4th Floor CR + Webex	11:00 am	Joe Masiero	Caltech/IPAC	Asteroid Mineralogy Revealed through Polarimetry and NEO Surveyor Update
Tue Apr 1, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Douglas Hemingway	University of Texas	Icy ocean world interiors—techniques and implications
Tue Apr 8, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Alessandro Morbidelli	Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur	Formation and evolution of a protoplanetary disk: combining observations, simulations and cosmochemical constraints
Tue Apr 15, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Krista Soderlund	University of Texas at Austin	TBD
Tue Apr 22, 2025 In None	11:00 am	None		NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK DUE TO LUCY FLYBY OPS
Tue Apr 29, 2025 In None	11:00 am	None		NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK DUE TO LUCY FLYBY OPS
Tue May 6, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Mike Wong	University of California-Berkeley	TBD
Tue May 20, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Matt Headman	University of Idaho	TBD
Tue May 27, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Rutu Parekh	Jet Propulsion Laboratory	TBD
Tue Jun 3, 2025	11:00 am	Ian Wong	Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)	TBD
Tue Jun 17, 2025 In Room 4.615	11:00 am	Juan Lora	Yale University	TBD
Tue Aug 19, 2025 In Room 424 + Webex	11:00 am	Antonio F. Bertachini A. Prado	Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE	TBD