Precipitation-induced surface brightenings seen on Titan by Cassini VIMS and ISS
Affiliation
Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844-0903 USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena, California, 91109 USA
University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720 USA
Bear Fight Institute, Winthrop, Washington, 98862 USA
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721 USA
United States Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, 80225 USA
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91126, USA
Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS UMR6112, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
Laboratoire AIM, Université Paris Diderot / CEA Irfu / CNRS, Centre de l’orme des Mérisiers, bât. 709, 91191 Gif/Yvette Cedex, FranceAstrogeology Division, United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USADLR, Institute of Planetary Research, 12489 Berlin, GermanyJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USADepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02141, USASpace Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Issue Date
2013Metadata
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BioMed CentralCitation
Barnes et al. Planetary Science 2013, 2:1 http://www.planetary-science.com/content/2/1/1Journal
Planetary ScienceRights
© 2013 Barnes et al.; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).Collection Information
This item is part of the UA Faculty Publications collection. For more information this item or other items in the UA Campus Repository, contact the University of Arizona Libraries at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Observations from Cassini VIMS and ISS show localized but extensive surface brightenings in the wake of the 2010 September cloudburst. Four separate areas, all at similar latitude, show similar changes: Yalaing Terra, Hetpet Regio, Concordia Regio, and Adiri. Our analysis shows a general pattern to the time-sequence of surface changes: after the cloudburst the areas darken for months, then brighten for a year before reverting to their original spectrum. From the rapid reversion timescale we infer that the process driving the brightening owes to a fine-grained solidified surface layer. The specific chemical composition of such solid layer remains unknown. Evaporative cooling of wetted terrain may play a role in the generation of the layer, or it may result from a physical grain-sorting process.EISSN
2191-2521Version
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2013 Barnes et al.; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).