Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.3602l&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #36.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1065
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Ligiea Mare, about 500km across, is the second-largest sea on Titan and is the nominal target for the proposed TiME (Titan Mare Explorer) mission, which would arrive at Titan in 2023 (Ls= 160o). A numerical model of tides in Titan seas and lakes (Tokano, 2010) has now been applied to Ligeia, and shows a tide that rotates anti-clockwise around the sea with a maximum amplitude of 1.2m (at the Eastern edge of Ligeia, and assuming no crustal response to tides). Recent work (Hayes et al., 2010) at Ontario Lacus suggests that such depth changes may be observable in Cassini RADAR data.
The magnitude of tidal currents is rather small and depends on the depth. Ligeia's bathymetry is not known (except that its overall radar darkness requires depths >6m) but assuming a 200m central depth by scaling with terrestrial lake basins , tidal currents are of the order of 1 cm/s.
The Global Circulation Model of Tokano (2009) predicts surface winds of 0-1 m/s in this season : the wind pattern is affected by global-scale wind, tidal winds, and the local effects of the thermal contrast between the dark hydrocarbon sea and its surrounds (sea breeze). Rainfall preferentially occurs in summer and may be slightly more intense than outside the sea.For vehicles with equal cross-section above and below the waterline, the drift velocity will be about 1/10th of the windspeed (from simple drag balance, and the 100:1 difference between air and sea density). Given the winds above, the drift of the TiME capsule will 10km per 24 hours. However, the net drift depends on the variation of wind direction during a Titan day, so an epicyclic trajectory may result with a lower overall drift rate. We examine the possibility of drag modulation to control direction and speed of net drift.
Lorenz Ralph
Stofan Ellen
Tokano Tetsuya
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