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Possible temperate lakes on Titan

Authors :
Jason W. Barnes
Sebastien Rodriguez
Stéphane Le Mouélic
Shannon MacKenzie
Paul Wilson
Christophe Sotin
Brian Jackson
G. Vixie
University of Idaho [Moscow, USA]
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)
Department of Physics [Moscow,USA]
University of Wolverhampton
North Carolina State University [Raleigh] (NC State)
University of North Carolina System (UNC)
Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112))
Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Source :
Icarus, Icarus, Elsevier, 2015, 257, pp.313-323. ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.009⟩, Icarus, 2015, 257, pp.313-323. ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.009⟩
Publication Year :
2015
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2015.

Abstract

International audience; We analyze southern mid-latitude albedo-dark features on Titan observed by Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). In exploring the nature of these features we consider their morphology, albedo, and specular reflectivity. We suggest that they represent candidates for potential temperate lakes. The presence of lakes at the mid-latitudes would indicate that surface liquid can accumulate and remain stable away from Titan's poles. Candidate lakes were identified by looking for possible shorelines with lacustrine morphology. Then, we applied an atmospheric correction that empirically solved for their surface albedo. Finally, we looked for a specular reflection of the sky in the identified candidates. Using this prescription, we find two candidates that remain as potential temperature lakes. If candidate features do represent temperate lakes on Titan, they have implications for formation mechanisms such as clouds and rainfall or, in low elevation areas, percolation and subsurface flow. Clouds were observed near candidate lake locations on the T66 flyby and this latitude band showed many clouds during southern summer. Our techniques can be applied to areas of Titan that lack RADAR coverage to search for mid-and low-latitude lakes in the future.

Details

ISSN :
00191035 and 10902643
Volume :
257
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Icarus
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....7b3372223aa8ab85255f0cd1efb8b524
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.009