Thermal tides on Pluto

Stellar occultations have shown that vertical profiles of density fluctuations in the atmosphere of Pluto typically show wave-like structure with an amplitude of a few percent and vertical wavelengths of a few kilometers. Here we calculate the tidal response of Pluto’s atmosphere to solar-induced sublimation “breathing” from N2 frost patches. Solutions show global-scale wave-like density structure capable of explaining the observations. The atmospheric response is a combination of eastward and westward migrating tides, together with a zonally symmetric mode. Calculated vertical wavelengths and amplitudes are similar to observations.