  The Cassini-Huygens mission measured the chemical abundances of the major
components of Titan's atmosphere, and analyses of the data revealed several
as-yet unexplained anomalies in the methane and hydrogen profiles. We model the
deceleration and ablation of meteors in Titan's atmosphere to examine whether
meteor energy deposition could explain, in part, two of these anomalies. Our
simulations vary meteor entry mass, trajectory angle, and velocity, and follow
changes in all three as our meteors descend into a realistic Titan atmosphere.
For the smallest particles, which deliver the most mass and therefore energy to
Titan, we find that the altitudes where energy deposition peaks correspond to
those of the observed chemical anomalies. In the region directly above the
anomalies, energy deposition by meteors is greater than energy deposition from
ultraviolet photons, which are typically responsible for methane dissociation.
Finally, we calculate the total amount of energy available for chemical
reactions in question. Total meteor energy deposited is swamped by daytime
ultraviolet light, but of course is the dominant source of energy for
atmospheric chemistry at the relevant altitudes during the night.
