The Sand Seas of Titan: Cassini RADAR Observations of Longitudinal Dunes

Autor: Howard A. Zebker, L. Roth, Ralph D. Lorenz, Bryan Stiles, Charles Elachi, Y. Anderson, Ellen R. Stofan, Roberto Seu, K. Kelleher, Giovanni Picardi, Gian Gabriele Ori, K. L. Mitchell, E. Reffet, Duane O. Muhleman, Jonathan I. Lunine, Jani Radebaugh, Enrico Flamini, G. Boubin, Yonggyu Gim, Lauren Wye, S. D. Wall, G. Francescetti, Robert West, Matthew A. Allison, S. Vetrella, Rosaly M. C. Lopes, G. Hamilton, Philip S. Callahan, Laurence A. Soderblom, R. Boehmer, S. Shaffer, Steven J. Ostro, Randolph L. Kirk, Pierre Encrenaz, Scott Hensley, M. A. Janssen, Flora Paganelli, William L. Johnson, Francesco Posa, Charles A. Wood
Přispěvatelé: R. D., Lorenz, S., Wall, J., Radebaugh, G., Boubin, E., Reffet, M., Janssen, E., Stofan, R., Lope, R., Kirk, C., Elachi, J., Lunine, K., Mitchell, F., Paganelli, L., Soderblom, C., Wood, L., Wye, H., Zebker, Y., Anderson, S., Ostro, M., Allison, R., Boehmer, P., Callahan, P., Encrenaz, G. G., Ori, Franceschetti, Giorgio, Y., Gim, G., Hamilton, S., Hensley, W., Johnson, K., Kelleher, D., Muhleman, G., Picardi, F., Posa, L., Roth, R., Seu, S., Shaffer, B., Stile, Vetrella, Sergio, E., Flamini, R., West, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [University of Arizona] (LPL), University of Arizona, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (JPL), Proxemy Research, Bowie, US Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA and Wheeling Jesuit College, Wheeling, Stanford University, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration New York, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique (LERMA), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-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 de Cergy Pontoise (UCP), Université Paris-Seine-Université Paris-Seine-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instrumentation et télédétection, Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères = Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres (LERMA), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-CY Cergy Paris Université (CY)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-CY Cergy Paris Université (CY), International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Dipartimento di Scienze, Università d'Annunzio, Facoltá di Ingegneria, Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Universitá La Sapienza, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia (INFM) and Dip. Interateneo di Fisica, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Science
Science, 2006, 312, pp.724-727. ⟨10.1126/science.1123257⟩
ISSN: 1095-9203
0036-8075
Popis: The most recent Cassini RADAR images of Titan show widespread regions (up to 1500 kilometers by 200 kilometers) of near-parallel radar-dark linear features that appear to be seas of longitudinal dunes similar to those seen in the Namib desert on Earth. The Ku-band (2.17-centimeter wavelength) images show approximately 100-meter ridges consistent with duneforms and reveal flow interactions with underlying hills. The distribution and orientation of the dunes support a model of fluctuating surface winds of approximately 0.5 meter per second resulting from the combination of an eastward flow with a variable tidal wind. The existence of dunes also requires geological processes that create sand-sized (100- to 300-micrometer) particulates and a lack of persistent equatorial surface liquids to act as sand traps.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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