Climate of Triton

Triton's southern polar cap and dark plume streaks

The climate of Triton encompasses the atmospheric dynamics, weather, and long-term atmospheric trends of Neptune's moon Triton. The atmosphere of Triton is rather thin, with a surface pressure of only 1.4 Pa (1.38×10−5 atm) at the time of Voyager 2's flyby,[1]: 873  but heavily variable. Despite its low surface pressure, it still drives active and global weather and climate cycles, heavily influencing Triton's glacial activity.

Triton's climate is dominated by extreme seasonal fluctuations that induce global volatile transport between its polar caps, leading to variable atmospheric circulation. The atmosphere of Triton also supports the formation of thin atmospheric haze and clouds, both of which remain poorly-studied. While Triton's climate is similar to the climate of Pluto, important differences separate the two, such as Triton's more chaotic climate cycles and colder atmosphere.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference McKinnon2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).