Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lorenz, R.D
• Wall, S
• Radebaugh, J
• Boubin, G
• Reffet, E
• Janssen, M
• Stofan, E
• Lopes, R
• Kirk, R
• Elachi, C
• Lunine, J
• Mitchell, K
• Paganelli, F
• Soderblom, L
• Wood, C
• Wye, L
• Zebker, H
• Anderson, Y
• Ostro, S
• Allison, M
• Boehmer, R
• Callahan, P
• Encrenaz, P
• Ori, G.G
• Francescetti, G
• Gim, Y
• Hamilton, G
• Hensley, S
• Johnson, W
• Kelleher, K
• Muhleman, D
• Picardi, G
• Posa, F
• Roth, L
• Seu, R
• Shaffer, S
• Stiles, B
• Vetrella, S
• Flamini, E
• West, R

Titel

Sand Seas of Titan: Cassini RADAR Observations of Longitudinal Dunes

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2006-05, Vol.312 (5774), p.724-727

Ort / Verlag

Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• 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 ~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 ~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.