Surface Parameters of Titan Feature Classes From Cassini RADAR Backscatter Measurements

Details Surface Parameters of Titan Feature Classes From Cassini RADAR Backscatter Measurements Surface Parameters of Titan Feature Classes From Cassini RADAR Backscatter Measurements

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p21a1318w&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P21A-1318

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

5464 Remote Sensing, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 6281 Titan, 6949 Radar Astronomy, 6969 Remote Sensing

Scientific paper

Multimode microwave measurements collected by the Cassini RADAR instrument during the spacecraft's first four years of operation form a fairly comprehensive set of radar backscatter data over a variety of Titan surface features. We use the real-aperture scatterometry processor to analyze the entire collection of active data, creating a uniformly-calibrated dataset that covers 93% of Titan's surface at a variety of viewing angles. Here, we examine how the measured backscatter response (radar reflectivity as a function of incidence angle) varies with surface feature type, such as dunes, cryovolcanic areas, and anomalous albedo terrain. We identify the feature classes using a combination of maps produced by the RADAR, ISS, and VIMS instruments. We then derive surface descriptors including roughness, dielectric constant, and degree of volume scatter. Radar backscatter on Titan is well-modeled as a superposition of large-scale surface scattering (quasispecular scattering) together with a combination of small-scale surface scattering and subsurface volume scattering (diffuse scattering). The viewing geometry determines which scattering mechanism is strongest. At low incidence angles, quasispecular scatter dominates the radar backscatter return. At higher incidence angles (angles greater than ~30°), diffuse scatter dominates the return. We use a composite model to separate the two scattering regimes; we model the quasispecular term with a combination of two traditional backscatter laws (we consider the Hagfors, Gaussian, and exponential models), following a technique developed by Sultan-Salem and Tyler [1], and we model the diffuse term, which encompasses both diffuse mechanisms, with a simple cosine power law. Using this total composite model, we analyze the backscatter curves of all features classes on Titan for which we have adequate angular coverage. In most cases, we find that the superposition of the Hagfors law with the exponential law best models the quasispecular response. A generalized geometric optics approach permits us to combine the best-fit parameters from each component of the composite model to yield a single value for the surface dielectric constant and RMS slope [1]. In this way, we map the relative variation of composition and wavelength-scale structure across the surface. We also map the variation of radar albedo across the analyzed features, as well as the relative prevalence of the different scattering mechanisms through the measured ratio of diffuse power to quasispecular power. These map products help to constrain how different geological processes might be interacting on a global scale. [1] A. K. Sultan-Salem, G. L. Tyler, JGR 112, 2007.

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