MONODEUTERATED METHANE IN THE OUTER SOLAR-SYSTEM .4. ITS DETECTION AND ABUNDANCE ON NEPTUNE

We have detected the 3v2 band of CH3D in the spectrum of Neptune near 1.6 μm recorded at a spectral resolution of 4 cm-1 with the Cassegrain Fourier Transform Spectrometer at the 3.6 m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea. Our analysis of this spectrum, using spectral synthesis techniques, yielded a CH3D/CH4 ratio of 6-4+6 × 10-4, which corresponds to a global D/H ratio for Neptune of 1.2-0.8+1.2 × 10-4, if CH3D is in isotopic fractionation equilibrium with HD. This value is about an order of magnitude larger than an earlier estimate by Orton et al. based on deconvolution measurements of unresolved molecular emission in the 8-10 μm region. Comparison of this new determination with previous studies of CH3D in the outer solar system shows that, as in the case of Uranus, the D/H on Neptune is strongly enhanced over that found on Jupiter and Saturn and is comparable to the D/H in methane on Titan and in terrestrial methane and water.