A global geomorphologic map of Saturn’s moon Titan

Autor: M. Florence, R. M. C. Lopes, Alexander G. Hayes, Samuel Birch, Michael Malaska, A. Solomonidou, A. Le Gall, Jani Radebaugh, T. Verlander, David A. Williams, Ashley Schoenfeld, Elizabeth Turtle, S. D. Wall
Přispěvatelé: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences [Los Angeles] (EPSS), University of California [Los Angeles] (UCLA), University of California-University of California, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency (ESA), Department of Astronomy [Ithaca], Cornell University [New York], Arizona State University [Tempe] (ASU), Department of Geological Sciences [BYU], Brigham Young University (BYU), School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science [Norman] (CEES), University of Oklahoma (OU), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), PLANETO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Astronomy
Nature Astronomy, Nature Publishing Group, 2020, 4, pp.228-233. ⟨10.1038/s41550-019-0917-6⟩
Nature astronomy
ISSN: 2397-3366
DOI: 10.1038/s41550-019-0917-6⟩
Popis: International audience; Titan has an active methane-based hydrologic cycle1 that has shaped a complex geologic landscape2, making its surface one of most geologically diverse in the Solar System. Despite the differences in materials, temperatures and gravity fields between Earth and Titan, many of their surface features are similar and can be interpreted as products of the same geologic processes3. However, Titan’s thick and hazy atmosphere has hindered the identification of its geologic features at visible wavelengths and the study of its surface composition4. Here we identify and map the major geological units on Titan’s surface using radar and infrared data from the Cassini orbiter spacecraft. Correlations between datasets enabled us to produce a global map even where datasets were incomplete. The spatial and superposition relations between major geological units reveals the likely temporal evolution of the landscape and provides insight into the interacting processes driving its evolution. We extract the relative dating of the various geological units by observing their spatial superposition in order to get information on the temporal evolution of the landscape. The dunes and lakes are relatively young, whereas the hummocky or mountainous terrains are the oldest on Titan. Our results also show that Titan’s surface is dominated by sedimentary or depositional processes with a clear latitudinal variation, with dunes at the equator, plains at mid-latitudes and labyrinth terrains and lakes at the poles.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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