Mapping of Titan: Results from the first Titan radar passes
Ellen R. Stofan
(1)
,
Jonathan I. Lunine
(2, 3)
,
Rosaly M. C. Lopes
(4)
,
Flora Paganelli
(4)
,
Ralph D. Lorenz
(3)
,
C. A. Wood
(5)
,
R. Kirk
(6)
,
Stephen D. Wall
(4)
,
Charles Elachi
(4)
,
Laurence A. Soderblom
(6)
,
S. Ostro
(4)
,
Michael A. Janssen
(4)
,
Jani Radebaugh
(3)
,
L. C. Wye
(7)
,
H. Zebker
(7)
,
Y. Anderson
(4)
,
M. Allison
(8)
,
R. Boehmer
(4)
,
P. Callahan
(4)
,
Pierre J. Encrenaz
(9)
,
Enrico Flamini
(10)
,
G. Francescetti
(11)
,
Y. Gim
(4)
,
G. Hamilton
(4)
,
S. Hensley
(4)
,
W. T. K. Johnson
(4)
,
K. Kelleher
(4)
,
Duane Muhleman
(12)
,
G. Picardi
(13)
,
F. Posa
(14)
,
L. Roth
(4)
,
R. Seu
(13)
,
S. Shaffer
(4)
,
B. W. Stiles
(4)
,
S. Vetrella
(11)
,
R. West
(4)
1
Proxemy Research, Rectortown
2 IFSI - Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
3 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [University of Arizona]
4 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
5 Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson
6 US Geological Survey, Flagstaff
7 Department of Geophysics, Stanford University
8 NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York
9 DEMIRM - Departement de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
10 ASI - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
11 Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Napoli
12 California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
13 Radar and Remote Sensing, Info-Com Department, University of Rome, La Sapienza
14 INFM and Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica
2 IFSI - Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
3 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [University of Arizona]
4 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
5 Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson
6 US Geological Survey, Flagstaff
7 Department of Geophysics, Stanford University
8 NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York
9 DEMIRM - Departement de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
10 ASI - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
11 Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Napoli
12 California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
13 Radar and Remote Sensing, Info-Com Department, University of Rome, La Sapienza
14 INFM and Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica
Jonathan I. Lunine
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 761866
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2279-4131
- IdRef : 050225081
Résumé
The first two swaths collected by Cassini's Titan Radar Mapper were obtained in October of 2004 (Ta) and February of 2005 (T3). The Ta swath provides evidence for cryovolcanic processes, the possible occurrence of fluvial channels and lakes, and some tectonic activity. The T3 swath has extensive areas of dunes and two large impact craters. We interpret the brightness variations in much of the swaths to result from roughness variations caused by fracturing and erosion of Titan's icy surface, with additional contributions from a combination of volume scattering and compositional variations. Despite the small amount of Titan mapped to date, the significant differences between the terrains of the two swaths suggest that Titan is geologically complex. The overall scarcity of impact craters provides evidence that the surface imaged to date is relatively young, with resurfacing by cryovolcanism, fluvial erosion, aeolian erosion, and likely atmospheric deposition of materials. Future radar swaths will help to further define the nature of and extent to which internal and external processes have shaped Titan's surface.