The details of the Solar system ’ s formation are still heavily debated .
Questions remain about the formation locations of the giant planets , and the degree to which volatile material was mixed throughout the proto-planetary system .
One diagnostic which offers great promise in helping to unravel the history of planet formation is the study of the level of deuteration in various Solar system bodies .
For example , the D/H ratio of methane in the atmosphere of Titan can be used as a diagnostic of the initial conditions of the solar nebula within the region of giant planet formation , and can help us to determine where Titan ( and , by extension , the Saturnian system ) accreted its volatile material .
The level of Titanian deuteration also has implications for both the sources and long term evolution of Titan ’ s atmospheric composition .
We present the results of observations taken in the 1.58 \mu m window using the NIFS spectrometer on the Gemini telescope , and model our data using the VSTAR line–by–line transfer model , which yields a D/H ratio for Titan ’ s atmosphere of ( 143 \pm 16 ) \times 10 ^ { -6 } [ 2 ] .
We are currently in the process of modeling the Gemini high resolution GNIRS spectra using new sets of line parameters derived for methane in the region between 1.2-1.7 \mu m [ 3 ] .