Global Distribution of Dunes on Titan With VIMS

Details Global Distribution of Dunes on Titan With VIMS Global Distribution of Dunes on Titan With VIMS

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p21a1312l&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P21A-1312

Physics

6281 Titan

Scientific paper

The carbon cycle on Titan involves several processes in the deep interior, in the sub-surface and in the atmosphere. The dunes, which were first seen by the Cassini/SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) [Lorenz et al., 2006], are thought to be composed of hydrocarbon grains deposited onto the surface after they formed in the atmosphere. Although their composition has not been determined during the nominal mission, pure water ice grains can be ruled out by the IR spectra obtained by the VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer). This study compares RADAR and VIMS images of dune fields to determine the spectral characteristics of these areas and uses the global VIMS spectral maps in order to provide a global map of the dune fields on Titan. Most of the Aeolian sand deposits are found in sand seas. In addition, isolated groups of "cat scratches", very sinuous short dunes [Radebaugh et al., 2008] and sand sheets [Lunine et al., 2008] are recognized. Their emplacement is most probably related to the available sand supply. In VIMS infrared dataset, the detailed study of dune fields by Barnes et al. [2008] shows that dune patterns are found mainly in brown units, which cover 18% of the whole Titan's surface and are found in equatorial regions. Dark blue units cover roughly 2% of Titan's surface. They are systematically associated with bright terrains and are never found isolated within brown units. The dune fields in SAR images generally end at the limit between infrared brown and bright units. Dunes can also be found on dark blue terrains as seen by Barnes et al. [2007] and Soderblom et al. [2007]. 82% of SAR dunes are located in brown units and 4.5% in dark blue units. The remnant dunes, corresponding to "cat scratches" or not well defined dune fields, appear in infrared bright units as isolated patches. These dunes may form with a low sand supply. They account for about 13.5% RADAR dunes. From the global mapping, we inferred that dunes in the RADAR data are highly correlated with brown infrared terrains, and can overlap dark blue areas. Observations of brown infrared terrains by VIMS will complete the dune field coverage found by SAR.

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