Saturn’s Stratospheric Temperature and Composition from Cassini/cirs

We present a short review of our current knowledge on Saturn’s stratospheric thermal structure and composition (hydrocarbons) based on recent Cassini/CIRS observations. Anomalies in the temperature field and in the meridional distribution of hydrocarbons hint at atmospheric dynamical phenomena at play. The two most notable features are an obseved asymmetry in the hydrocarbons distribution at high altitudes, hinting at inter-hemispheric transport, and the discovery of an equatorial oscillation in temperature and zonal wind, hinting at interactions between vertically-propagating waves and the mean zonal flow. The physical processes behind these observed anomalies need to be better understood, and these results advocate for the development of climate models of Saturn’s stratosphere.