151. Surface changes in mid-latitude regions on Titan
- Author
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Solomonidou, Anezina, Coustenis, Athéna, Lopes, Rosaly M. C., Hirtzig, Mathieu, Rodriguez, Sebastien, Stephan, Katrin, Sotin, Christophe, Drossart, Pierre, Lawrence, Kenneth J., Le Mouélic, Stéphane, Bratsolis, Emmanuel, Jaumann, Ralf, Brown, Robert H., Malaska, Michael J., Henry, Florence, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (JPL), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pôle Planétologie du LESIA, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Fondation La main à la pâte, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
- Subjects
Planetengeologie ,Cassini Titan ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,[PHYS.ASTR] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] - Abstract
International audience; We present a study focused on the mid-latitude and close to the equator surface regions on Titan that present an interest on their spectral behavior and/or morphology. These are regions where spectroscopic anomalies have been reported in the evolution of the brightness and several interpretations have been proposed (cryovolcanic candidates, evaporates, lacustrine, etc [1;2;5]). Also in our work here we have included analysis of some undifferentiated plains (also referred to as 'blandlands'), which are vast expanses of terrains that appear bland in the radar data [3]. By applying a Radiative transfer code [4;2] we have analyzed these regions to look for evolution with time through their spectral behavior. We use as reference point and calibration tool the surface albedo retrieval of the Huygens Landing site (Titan's ground truth) and we also check the variability of the surface albedo of these regions against areas that are not expected to change with time (e.g. dune fields), by retrieving their albedo differences at all wavelengths [2]. We report here surface albedo changes with time for some of these regions of interest that imply connection to exogenic and/or endogenic processes.
- Published
- 2014