Computer Science
Scientific paper
Apr 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010ttt..work...42s&link_type=abstract
Through Time; A Workshop On Titan's Past, Present and Future, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, April 6th - 8th, 2010. Edited b
Computer Science
Scientific paper
Large fields of linear dunes are abundant on Titan, covering nearly 20% of the surface. They are among the youngest features and represent interactions between near-surface winds and sediment. This interaction may vary from area to area creating unique populations of eolian features identified by dune field parameters such as crest-to-crest spacing, dune width and orientation. These parameters respond to changes in near-surface conditions over periods of time ranging from minutes to many thousands of years depending on dune size and the duration of the changes. While pattern analysis of dune field parameters on Earth and, in this study, Titan reveals much about current climatic conditions, such as wind regimes and wetter vs. drier areas, many inferences about past conditions can also be made. Initial pattern analysis of linear dunes on Titan reveals a single population of linear dunes representing a large percentage of all observed dunes. This single population is the result of two leading possibilities: Either there has been only one long period of dune building, leading to very old cores that have been built upon over long periods of time, perhaps punctuated with few or many intervals of non-deposition; or the current conditions of dune building have persisted long enough to completely erase any evidence of previous conditions. We have not yet worked through all the input parameters to adjust Earth's time scales to Titan's, and thus it is not yet possible to give a precise age for Titan's dunes. However, if these large linear dunes are similar to Earth's large linear dunes, they may represent at least several thousand years of dune building.
Radebaugh Jani
Savage Christopher J.
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