Titan's Surface: The Thermal Signature of Cryolava Emplacement

Details Titan's Surface: The Thermal Signature of Cryolava Emplacement Titan's Surface: The Thermal Signature of Cryolava Emplacement

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.3405d&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #34.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.457

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If volcanic processes are indeed emplacing new cryomagmatic material on the surface of Titan, such activity might be detected by recognizing distinctive signatures, in particular, thermal anomalies on the surface and/or in the atmosphere; a unique morphology that is characteristic of the volcanic processes; or spectroscopic features that identify likely cryolava compositions. We are investigating the mechanisms of eruption and emplacement of cryolava on Titan's surface. Atmospheric convection plays a dominant role in the heat loss from the flow's upper surface [1]. We have now modeled the solidification and cooling process of a cryolava using a finite element code [2]. Integrating over the temperature distribution found on a large active flow yields the integrated thermal emission spectrum. For a flow, emplaced in a laminar flow regime, covering 100 km2 (50 km long and 2 km wide) emplaced in 105 s (1.2 days), peak thermal emission occurs at 13 µm. Total thermal emission is a substantial 1010 W. We are now evaluating atmosphere transfer at thermal infrared wavelengths and instrument sensitivities to determine if such activity could be detected by Cassini instruments, with a view to design of the next NASA/ESA missions to Titan. Modeling lava emplacement is a very complex process under the best circumstances, but in the Titan case this effort is hampered by a lack of constraints on possible lava composition, and values of physical and rheological properties that can be significantly temperature-dependent. As laboratory work proceeds on constraining lava physical properties and reducing parameter space, comparative geomorphology exercises may further constrain cryolava composition. This work has been conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. References: [1] Davies et al., 2007, DPS-39, abstract 63.05. [2] Davies et al., 2008, Geophys. Res. Abstr., 10, EGU2008-A-04430.

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