Possible temperate lakes on Titan

Vixie, G.; Barnes, Jason W.; Jackson, Brian; Rodríguez, S.; Mouëlic, Stéphane Le; Sotin, C.; MacKenzie, Shannon; Wilson, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.009

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…As discussed previously, Titan GCMs agree that methane is efficiently transported away from the equator, drying out the low latitudes and midlatitudes and depositing liquid at the poles [Mitchell et al, 2006;Mitchell, 2008;Mitchell et al, 2009;Schneider et al, 2012;Mitchell, 2012;Lora et al, 2014. Although the southern hemisphere appears to be almost entirely devoid of currently filled lakes, there is some geomorphological evidence of paleoseas [Aharonson et al, 2009;Hayes et al, 2011;Moore and Pappalardo, 2011], with the most equatorward candidates located at 39 ∘ and 42 ∘ S [Vixie et al, 2015]. Lora et al [2014] simulated Titan's paleoclimate over the past 42,000 years looking at four characteristic configurations and found that all four result in efficient transport of methane to the poles; the present-day configuration and 14 kyr configuration favor transport to the north pole, the 28 kyr configuration favors the south pole, and the 42 kyr configuration is symmetric.…”

Section: Fluvial Transport and Lakes And Seassupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Connection With the Surfacementioning

confidence: 94%

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Titan's atmosphere and climate

2017

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Titan is the only moon with a substantial atmosphere, the only other thick N2 atmosphere besides Earth's, the site of extraordinarily complex atmospheric chemistry that far surpasses any other solar system atmosphere, and the only other solar system body with stable liquid currently on its surface. The connection between Titan's surface and atmosphere is also unique in our solar system; atmospheric chemistry produces materials that are deposited on the surface and subsequently altered by surface‐atmosphere interactions such as aeolian and fluvial processes resulting in the formation of extensive dune fields and expansive lakes and seas. Titan's atmosphere is favorable for organic haze formation, which combined with the presence of some oxygen‐bearing molecules indicates that Titan's atmosphere may produce molecules of prebiotic interest. The combination of organics and liquid, in the form of water in a subsurface ocean and methane/ethane in the surface lakes and seas, means that Titan may be the ideal place in the solar system to test ideas about habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and the ubiquity and diversity of life in the universe. The Cassini‐Huygens mission to the Saturn system has provided a wealth of new information allowing for study of Titan as a complex system. Here I review our current understanding of Titan's atmosphere and climate forged from the powerful combination of Earth‐based observations, remote sensing and in situ spacecraft measurements, laboratory experiments, and models. I conclude with some of our remaining unanswered questions as the incredible era of exploration with Cassini‐Huygens comes to an end.

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Section: Fluvial Transport and Lakes And Seassupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Connection With the Surfacementioning

confidence: 94%

Titan's atmosphere and climate

2017

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“…For the next verification step we compare SRTC++ results to those of a more general semianalytic model. We use a model derived by one of us (BKJ) from Thomas & Stamnes (2002) and initially used in Vixie et al (2015). The model separately calculates I/F contributions from different scattering histories involving at most one atmospheric scatter.…”

Section: Atmosphere and Surfacementioning

confidence: 99%

Spherical Radiative Transfer in C++ (SRTC++): A Parallel Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Model for Titan

Barnes

MacKenzie

Young

et al. 2018

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We present a new computer program, SRTC++, to solve spatial problems associated with explorations of Saturn's moon Titan. The program implements a three-dimensional structure well-suited to addressing shortcomings arising from plane-parallel radiative transfer approaches. SRTC++'s design uses parallel processing in an object-oriented, compiled computer language (C++) leading to a flexible and fast architecture. We validate SRTC++ using analytical results, semianalytical radiative transfer expressions, and an existing Titan plane-parallel model. SRTC++ complements existing approaches, addressing spatial problems like near-limb and near-terminator geometries, non-Lambertian surface phase functions (including specular reflections), and surface albedo nonuniformity.

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“…Some of these lakes and seas are currently covered by liquids, while others are not [ Hayes et al , ]. Most are located in the polar regions [ Hayes et al , ; Aharonson et al , ], although a few occurrences have been reported at lower latitudes [ Moore and Howard , ; Vixie et al , ]. The currently filled lakes and seas are located poleward of 70° of latitude in both hemispheres whereas most empty depressions are located at lower latitudes (Figure ) [ Hayes et al , ; Aharonson et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolution on Titan and on Earth: Toward the age of Titan's karstic landscapes

et al. 2015

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Titan's polar surface is dotted with hundreds of lacustrine depressions. Based on the hypothesis that they are karstic in origin, we aim at determining the efficiency of surface dissolution as a landshaping process on Titan, in a comparative planetology perspective with the Earth as reference. Our approach is based on the calculation of solutional denudation rates and allow inference of formation timescales for topographic depressions developed by chemical erosion on both planetary bodies. The model depends on the solubility of solids in liquids, the density of solids and liquids, and the average annual net rainfall rates. We compute and compare the denudation rates of pure solid organics in liquid hydrocarbons and of minerals in liquid water over Titan and Earth timescales. We then investigate the denudation rates of a superficial organic layer in liquid methane over one Titan year. At this timescale, such a layer on Titan would behave like salts or carbonates on Earth depending on its composition, which means that dissolution processes would likely occur, but would be 30 times slower on Titan compared to the Earth due to the seasonality of precipitation. Assuming an average depth of 100 m for Titan's lacustrine depressions, these could have developed in a few tens of millions of years at polar latitudes higher than 70 • N and S, and a few hundreds of million years at lower polar latitudes. The ages determined are consistent with the youth of the surface (< 1 Gyr) and the repartition of dissolution-related landforms on Titan.

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Possible temperate lakes on Titan

Cited by 17 publications

References 52 publications

Titan's atmosphere and climate

Titan's atmosphere and climate

Spherical Radiative Transfer in C++ (SRTC++): A Parallel Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Model for Titan

Dissolution on Titan and on Earth: Toward the age of Titan's karstic landscapes

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