Cassini/VIMS Near-Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy Oo Titan's Sand Dunes

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Scientific paper

Seas of longitudinal sand dunes cover a substantial fraction of Titan's surface at low latitudes. Spectral mapping of these areas by Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument is able to identify the dunes when our spatial resolution is better than 1km. VIMS observations from Titan flybys T4 (2005 March 31), T20 (2006 October 20), and T34 (2007 July 19) show dunes. These data show that Titan's dunefields are not homogeneous; some areas' spectra are consistent with continuous sand sheets, others have interdune regions that are swept free of sand. The interdunes have varying spectra, from which we infer that the dunes overly a variety of substrate materials. The spectrum of the sand itself is dark, with a small red slope relative to other Titan surface materials. The spectrum is not uniquely attributable to any specific chemical compounds, but is consistent with that of solid organic materials. The spectrum is inconsistent with that of water ice. Hence the sand that makes up the dunes is probably either composed of solid organics or coated with a layer of organics several microns thick.

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