The Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) is always madness. Once upon a time, I was able to dash off numerous blog posts in teeny bits of time snatched between sessions, but that was a younger me. I think it was also a less busy time in planetary science, with fewer missions. Now there’s an embarrassment of riches and I hardly know where to begin. So I’ll spin the wheel of possible LPSC session topics, and: Titan! I’ll talk about Saturn’s moon Titan.
Author:KarmataAbstract:Recent geodetic measurements for Enceladus suggest a global subsurface ocean that is thicker beneath the south pole. In order to maintain such an ocean, viscous relaxation of topography at the base of the ice shell and melting of ice need to be balanced. In this study, we investigate the interior thermal state that can lead to the relaxation timescale being comparable to the melting timescale. Our results indicate that a basal heat flux about ten times higher than that due to radiogenic heating, or an ice shell tidal heating rate about ten times higher than the conventional estimate of 1.1 GW is necessary if the ice shell is in thermal equilibrium. These requirements are concordant with recent astrometric studies.
Author:LorenzAbstract:A scale model of the proposed Titan Mare Explorer capsule was deployed at the Planetary Lake Lander field site at Laguna Negra, Chile. The tests served to calibrate models of wind-driven drift of the capsule and to understand its attitude motion in the wave field, as well as to identify dynamic and acoustic signatures of shoreline approach. This information enables formulation of onboard trigger criteria for near-shore science data acquisition.
Authors:Birch et alAbstract:We present a geomorphologic map of Titan's polar terrains. The map was generated from a combination of Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Imaging Science Subsystem imaging products, as well as altimetry, SARTopo and radargrammetry topographic datasets. In combining imagery with topographic data, our geomorphologic map reveals a stratigraphic sequence from which we infer process interactions between units. In mapping both polar regions with the same geomorphologic units, we conclude that processes that formed the terrains of the north polar region also acted to form the landscape we observe at the south. Uniform, SAR-dark plains are interpreted as sedimentary deposits, and are bounded by moderately dissected uplands. These plains contain the highest density of filled and empty lake depressions, and canyons. These units unconformably overlay a basement rock that outcrops as mountains and SAR-bright dissected terrains at various elevations across both poles. All these units are then superposed by surficial units that slope towards the seas, suggestive of subsequent overland transport of sediment. From estimates of the depths of the embedded empty depressions and canyons that drain into the seas, the SAR-dark plains must be >600 m thick in places, though the thickness may vary across the poles. At the lowest elevations of each polar region, there are large seas, which are currently liquid methane/ethane filled at the north and empty at the south. The large plains deposits and the surrounding hillslopes may represent remnant landforms that are a result of previously vast polar oceans, where larger liquid bodies may have allowed for a sustained accumulation of soluble and insoluble sediments, potentially forming layered sedimentary deposits. Coupled with vertical crustal movements, the resulting layers would be of varying solubilities and erosional resistances, allowing formation of the complex landscape that we observe today.
Authors:Lora et alAbstract:We retrieve vertical and meridional variations of methane mole fraction in Titan's lower troposphere by re-analyzing near-infrared ground-based observations from 17 July 2014 UT (Adamkovics et al., 2016). We generate synthetic spectra using atmospheric methane profiles that do not contain supersaturation or discontinuities to fit the observations, and thereby retrieve minimum saturation altitudes and corresponding specific humidities in the boundary layer. We relate these in turn to surface-level relative humidities using independent surface temperature measurements. We also compare our results with general circulation model simulations to interpret and constrain the relationship between humidities and surface liquids. The results show that Titan's lower troposphere is undersaturated at latitudes south of 60N, consistent with a dry surface there, but increases in humidity toward the north pole indicate appreciable surface liquid coverage. While our observations are consistent with considerably more liquid methane existing at the north pole than is present in observed lakes, a degeneracy between low-level methane and haze leads to substantial uncertainty in determining the extent of the source region.
Liquid-filled canyons on Titan
Authors:
Poggiali et al
Abstract:
In May 2013 the Cassini RADAR altimeter observed channels in Vid Flumina, a drainage network connected to Titan's second largest hydrocarbon sea, Ligeia Mare. Analysis of these altimeter echoes shows that the channels are located in deep (up to ~570 m), steep-sided, canyons and have strong specular surface reflections that indicate they are currently liquid filled. Elevations of the liquid in these channels are at the same level as Ligeia Mare to within a vertical precision of about 0.7 m, consistent with the interpretation of drowned river valleys. Specular reflections are also observed in lower order tributaries elevated above the level of Ligeia Mare, consistent with drainage feeding into the main channel system.
Author:KrasnopolskyAbstract:Nitrogen isotope fractionation in predissociation of N2 (Liang et al., 2007) is combined with production of N(4S), N(2D), and N+ in dissociation and dissociative ionization by the solar EUV photons, photoelectrons, magnetospheric electrons and protons, and cosmic rays from the photochemical model. The calculated 14N/15N ratio in nitriles is 57, in excellent agreement with the observed ratio in HCN. Loss of nitrogen in condensation and polymerization of nitriles is 392 g cm−2 Byr−1 with nitrogen isotope fractionation factor of 2.8. Loss of nitrogen by sputtering is 57 g cm−2 Byr−1 (De La Haye et al., 2007) with fractionation factor of 0.73 (Mandt et al., 2014). If the current loss was constant throughout the age of the Solar System, then the initial 14N/15N ratio on Titan is 129, similar to 127±32 for ammonia in comets (Rousselot et al., 2014). However, the solar EUV and wind were stronger from the young Sun, and this tends to further reduce the initial 14N/15N ratio. Nevertheless uncertainties of the problem and of the ratio in comets support the idea that nitrogen on Titan appeared as ammonia ice with 14N/15N similar to that in comets.
Authors:Gilliam et alAbstract:Data obtained from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments have revealed an array of fluvial channels on Titan's surface, often several hundreds of kilometers in length. The paucity of impact craters on Titan's surface suggests a formation by fluvial erosion into the water-ice bedrock. Additionally, at the landing site, the Huygens Probe Descent Imager and Spectral Radiometer (DISR) imaged Earth-like rounded cobbles 0.3–15 cm in diameter composed of water ice, reminiscent of rounded stream clasts on Earth. In this paper we examine different fluvial features on Titan, identified by the Cassini spacecraft, and evaluate the possibilities of channel formation by dissolution of ice by a concentrated solution of ammonium sulfate, and by mechanical erosion by flow of liquid ammonia and liquid ethane. We find that chemical erosion of Titan's channels could be completed in 280 to 1100 years (all units of time in this paper are Terrestrial, not Titanian), much shorter than the period of about 84,000 years that a concentrated (NH4)2SO4-H2O solution could exist as a liquid on the Titan surface. Mechanical erosion of Titan's channels is generally a much slower process, on the order of 102 to 105 years to completion, and is also slower than mechanical erosion of a model river on Earth, averaging 103 to 104 years. The erosional sequence of the channels on Titan may have started after the formation of water-ice on the surface by the process of chemical dissolution by (NH4)2SO4-H2O, overlapping, or followed by, a period of mechanical erosion by liquid NH3. A final stage on the cooling surface of Titan might have been characterized by liquid C2H6 as an agent of mechanical erosion.
Geomorphologic Mapping of Titan's Polar Terrains: Constraining Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution
Authors:
Birch et al
Abstract:
We present a geomorphologic map of Titan's polar terrains. The map was generated from a combination of Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Imaging Science Subsystem imaging products, as well as altimetry, SARTopo and radargrammetry topographic datasets. In combining imagery with topographic data, our geomorphologic map reveals a stratigraphic sequence from which we infer process interactions between units. In mapping both polar regions with the same geomorphologic units, we conclude that processes that formed the terrains of the north polar region also acted to form the landscape we observe at the south. Uniform, SAR-dark plains are interpreted as sedimentary deposits, and are bounded by moderately dissected uplands. These plains contain the highest density of filled and empty lake depressions, and canyons. These units unconformably overlay a basement rock that outcrops as mountains and SAR-bright dissected terrains at various elevations across both poles. All these units are then superposed by surficial units that slope towards the seas, suggestive of subsequent overland transport of sediment. From estimates of the depths of the embedded empty depressions and canyons that drain into the seas, the SAR-dark plains must be >600 m thick in places, though the thickness may vary across the poles. At the lowest elevations of each polar region, there are large seas, which are currently liquid methane/ethane filled at the north and empty at the south. The large plains deposits and the surrounding hillslopes may represent remnant landforms that are a result of previously vast polar oceans, where larger liquid bodies may have allowed for a sustained accumulation of soluble and insoluble sediments, potentially forming layered sedimentary deposits. Coupled with vertical crustal movements, the resulting layers would be of varying solubilities and erosional resistances.
Liquid methane-filled canyons hundreds of meters deep with walls as steep as ski slopes etch the surface of Titan, researchers report in a new study. The new findings provide the first direct evidence of these features on Saturn's largest moon, and could give scientists insights into Titan's origins and similar geologic processes on Earth, according to the study's authors.
New Cassini radar observations of Titan's north pole depict cavernous gorges a little less than a kilome-ter (less than half a mile) wide with walls up to 570 meters (1870 feet) tall -- about 30 meters (98 feet) higher than New York's Freedom Tower. The eight canyons branch off from Vid Flumina, a more than 400-kilometer (249-mile) long river flowing into Titan's second-largest sea, Ligeia Mare. The new data confirm the canyons are filled with flowing methane -- a feature researchers had suspected but not directly observed, according to the study's authors.
The new findings suggest the canyons were likely carved by liquid methane draining into Vid Flumina, a process similar to the carving of river gorges on Earth, according to the study's authors. The new re-search could help scientists better understand these geological processes, they said.
Authors:Willacy et alAbstract:We present results of an investigation into the formation of nitrogen-bearing molecules in the atmosphere of Titan. We extend a previous model (Li et al. 2015, 2016) to cover the region below the tropopause, so the new model treats the atmosphere from Titan's surface to an altitude of 1500 km. We consider the effects of condensation and sublimation using a continuous, numerically stable method. This is coupled with parameterized treatments of the sedimentation of the aerosols and their condensates, and the formation of haze particles. These processes affect the abundances of heavier species such as the nitrogen-bearing molecules, but have less effect on the abundances of lighter molecules. Removal of molecules to form aerosols also plays a role in determining the mixing ratios, in particular of HNC, HC3N and HCN. We find good agreement with the recently detected mixing ratios of C2H5CN, with condensation playing an important role in determining the abundance of this molecule below 500 km. Of particular interest is the chemistry of acrylonitrile (C2H3CN) which has been suggested by Stevenson et al. (2015) as a molecule that could form biological membranes in an oxygen-deficient environment. With the inclusion of haze formation we find good agreement of our model predictions of acrylonitrile with the available observations.
Polymorphism and electronic structure of polyimine and its potential significance for prebiotic chemistry on Titan
Authors:
Rahm et al
Abstract:
The chemistry of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is believed to be central to the origin of life question. Contradictions between Cassini–Huygens mission measurements of the atmosphere and the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan suggest that HCN-based polymers may have formed on the surface from products of atmospheric chemistry. This makes Titan a valuable “natural laboratory” for exploring potential nonterrestrial forms of prebiotic chemistry. We have used theoretical calculations to investigate the chain conformations of polyimine (pI), a polymer identified as one major component of polymerized HCN in laboratory experiments. Thanks to its flexible backbone, the polymer can exist in several different polymorphs, which are relatively close in energy. The electronic and structural variability among them is extraordinary. The band gap changes over a 3-eV range when moving from a planar sheet-like structure to increasingly coiled conformations. The primary photon absorption is predicted to occur in a window of relative transparency in Titan’s atmosphere, indicating that pI could be photochemically active and drive chemistry on the surface. The thermodynamics for adding and removing HCN from pI under Titan conditions suggests that such dynamics is plausible, provided that catalysis or photochemistry is available to sufficiently lower reaction barriers. We speculate that the directionality of pI’s intermolecular and intramolecular =N–H…N hydrogen bonds may drive the formation of partially ordered structures, some of which may synergize with photon absorption and act catalytically. Future detailed studies on proposed mechanisms and the solubility and density of the polymers will aid in the design of future missions to Titan.
Uptake of acetylene on cosmic dust and production of benzene in Titan's atmosphere
Authors:
Frankland et al
Abstract:
A low-temperature flow tube and ultra-high vacuum apparatus were used to explore the uptake and heterogeneous chemistry of acetylene (C2H2) on cosmic dust analogues over the temperature range encountered in Titan's atmosphere below 600 km. The uptake coefficient, γ, was measured at 181 K to be (1.6 ± 0.4) × 10-4, (1.9 ± 0.4) × 10−4 and (1.5 ± 0.4) × 10−4 for the uptake of C2H2 on Mg2SiO4, MgFeSiO4 and Fe2SiO4, respectively, indicating that γ is independent of Mg or Fe active sites. The uptake of C2H2 was also measured on SiO2 and SiC as analogues for meteoric smoke particles in Titan's atmosphere, but was found to be below the detection limit (γ < 6 × 10−8 and < 4 × 10-7, respectively). The rate of cyclo-trimerization of C2H2 to C6H6 was found to be 2.6 × 10-5 exp(-741/T) s−1, with an uncertainty ranging from ± 27 % at 115 K to ± 49 % at 181 K. A chemical ablation model was used to show that the bulk of cosmic dust particles (radius 0.02–10 µm) entering Titan's atmosphere do not ablate (< 1% mass loss through sputtering), thereby providing a significant surface for heterogeneous chemistry. A 1D model of dust sedimentation shows that the production of C6H6via uptake of C2H2 on cosmic dust, followed by cyclo-trimerization and desorption, is probably competitive with gas-phase production of C6H6 between 80 and 120 km.
Titan's organic aerosols: Molecular composition and structure of laboratory analogues inferred from pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis
Authors:
Morrisson et al
Abstract:
Analogues of Titan's aerosols are of primary interest in the understanding of Titan's atmospheric chemistry and climate, and in the development of in situ instrumentation for future space missions. Numerous studies have been carried out to characterize laboratory analogues of Titan aerosols (tholins), but their molecular composition and structure are still poorly known. If pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (pyr-GCMS) has been used for years to give clues about their chemical composition, highly disparate results were obtained with this technique. They can be attributed to the variety of analytical conditions used for pyr-GCMS analyses, and/or to differences in the nature of the analogues analyzed, that were produced with different laboratory set-ups under various operating conditions.
In order to have a better description of Titan's tholin's molecular composition by pyr-GCMS, we carried out a systematic study with two major objectives: (i) exploring the pyr-GCMS analytical parameters to find the optimal ones for the detection of a wide range of chemical products allowing a characterization of the tholins composition as comprehensive as possible, and (ii) highlighting the role of the CH4 ratio in the gaseous reactive medium on the tholin's molecular structure. We used a radio-frequency plasma discharge to synthetize tholins with different concentrations of CH4 diluted in N2. The samples were pyrolyzed at temperatures covering the 200–700°C range. The extracted gases were then analyzed by GCMS for their molecular identification.
The optimal pyrolysis temperature for characterizing the molecular composition of our tholins by GCMS analysis is found to be 600°C. This temperature choice results from the best compromise between the number of compounds released, the quality of the signal and the appearance of pyrolysis artifacts. About a hundred molecules are identified as pyrolysates. A common major chromatographic pattern appears clearly for all the samples even if the number of released compounds can significantly differ. The hydrocarbon chain content increases in tholins when the CH4 ratio increases. A semi-quantitative study of the nitriles (most abundant chemical family in our chromatograms) released during the pyrolysis shows the existence of a correlation between the amount of a nitrile released and its molecular mass, similarly to the previous quantification of nitriles in the plasma gas-phase. Moreover, numerous nitriles are present both in tholins and in the gas phase, confirming their suspected role in the gas phase as precursors of the solid organic particles.
Sustained eruptions on Enceladus explained by turbulent dissipation in tiger stripes
Authors:
Kite et al
Abstract:
Spacecraft observations suggest that the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus draw water from a subsurface ocean, but the sustainability of conduits linking ocean and surface is not understood. Observations show sustained (though tidally modulated) fissure eruptions throughout each orbit, and since the 2005 discovery of the plumes. Peak plume flux lags peak tidal extension by ∼1 radian, suggestive of resonance. Here we show that a model of the tiger stripes as tidally-flexed slots that puncture the ice shell can simultaneously explain the persistence of the eruptions through the tidal cycle, the phase lag, and the total power output of the tiger stripe terrain, while suggesting that the eruptions are maintained over geological timescales. The delay associated with flushing and refilling of \emph{O}(1) m-wide slots with ocean water causes erupted flux to lag tidal forcing and helps to buttress slots against closure, while tidally pumped in-slot flow leads to heating and mechanical disruption that staves off slot freeze-out. Much narrower and much wider slots cannot be sustained. In the presence of long-lived slots, the 106-yr average power output of the tiger stripes is buffered by a feedback between ice melt-back and subsidence to \emph{O}(1010) W, which is similar to the observed power output, suggesting long-term stability. Turbulent dissipation makes testable predictions for the final flybys of Enceladus by the \emph{Cassini} spacecraft. Our model shows how open connections to an ocean can be reconciled with, and sustain, long-lived eruptions. Turbulent dissipation in long-lived slots helps maintain the ocean against freezing, maintains access by future Enceladus missions to ocean materials, and is plausibly the major energy source for tiger stripe activity.
The diurnal libration and interior structure of Enceladus
Authors:
Van Hoolst et al
Abstract:
We determine constraints on the ice shell and ocean of Enceladus from the observed libration at orbital period by assessing the effects of uncertainties in the size, density, rigidity, and viscosity of the internal layers and of the non-hydrostatic structure on the libration. The observed libration amplitude implies that the average thickness of the ice shell is between 14 km and 26 km and that the ocean is 21 km to 67 km thick.
The influence of subsurface flow on lake formation and north polar lake distribution on Titan
Authors:
Horvath et al
Abstract:
Observations of lakes, fluvial dissection of the surface, rapid variations in cloud cover, and lake shoreline changes indicate that Saturn's moon Titan is hydrologically active, with a hydrocarbon-based hydrological cycle dominated by liquid methane. Here we use a numerical model to investigate the Titan hydrological cycle – including surface, subsurface, and atmospheric components – in order to investigate the underlying causes of the observed distribution and sizes of lakes in the north polar region. The hydrocarbon-based hydrological cycle is modeled using a numerical subsurface flow model and analytical runoff scheme, driven by a general circulation model with an active methane-cycle. This model is run on synthetically generated topography that matches the fractal character of the observed topography, without explicit representation of the effects of erosion and deposition. At the scale of individual basins, intermediate to high permeability (10−8–10−6 cm2) aquifers are required to reproduce the observed large stable lakes. However, at the scale of the entire north polar lake district, a high permeability aquifer results in the rapid flushing of methane through the aquifer from high polar latitudes to dry lower polar latitudes, where methane is removed by evaporation, preventing large lakes from forming. In contrast, an intermediate permeability aquifer slows the subsurface flow from high polar latitudes, allowing greater lake areas. The observed distribution of lakes is best matched by either a uniform intermediate permeability aquifer, or a combination of a high permeability cap at high latitudes surrounded by an intermediate permeability aquifer at lower latitudes, as could arise due to karstic processes at the north pole. The stability of Kraken Mare further requires reduction of the evaporation rate over the sea to 1% of the value predicted by the general circulation model, likely as a result of dissolved ethane, nitrogen, or organic solutes, and/or a climatic lake effect. These results reveal that subsurface flow through aquifers plays an important role in Titan's hydrological cycle, and exerts a strong influence over the distribution, size, and volatile budgets of Titan's lakes.
Characterization of aromaticity in analogues of titan's atmospheric aerosols with two-step laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry
Authors:
Mahjoub et al
Abstract:
The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and Nitrogen containing PAH (PANH) as intermediates of aerosol production in the atmosphere of Titan has been a subject of controversy for a long time. An analysis of the atmospheric emission band observed by the Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) at 3.28 micrometer suggests the presence of neutral polycyclic aromatic species in the upper atmosphere of Titan. These molecules are seen as the counter part of negative and positive aromatics ions suspected by the Plasma Spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft, but the low resolution of the instrument hinders any molecular speciation.
In this work we investigate the specific aromatic content of Titan's atmospheric aerosols through laboratory simulations. We report here the selective detection of aromatic compounds in tholins, Titan's aerosol analogues, produced with a capacitively coupled plasma in a N2:CH4 95:5 gas mixture. For this purpose, Two-Step Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (L2DI-TOF-MS) technique is used to analyze the so produced analogues. This analytical technique is based on the ionization of molecules by Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI) using a {\lambda}=248 nm wavelength laser which is selective for aromatic species. This allows for the selective identification of compounds having at least one aromatic ring. Our experiments show that tholins contain a trace amount of small PAHs with one to three aromatic rings. Nitrogen containing PAHs (PANHs) are also detected as constituents of tholins. Molecules relevant to astrobiology are detected as is the case of the substituted DNA base adenine.
The rotational dynamics of Titan from Cassini RADAR images
Authors:
Meriggiola et al
Abstract:
Between 2004 and 2009 the RADAR instrument of the Cassini mission provided 31 SAR images of Titan. We tracked the position of 160 surface landmarks as a function of time in order to monitor the rotational dynamics of Titan. We generated and processed RADAR observables using a least squares fit to determine the updated values of the rotational parameters. We provide a new rotational model of Titan, which includes updated values for spin pole location, spin rate, precession and nutation terms. The estimated pole location is compatible with the occupancy of a Cassini state 1. We found a synchronous value of the spin rate (22.57693 deg/day), compatible at a 3-σ level with IAU predictions. The estimated obliquity is equal to 0.31°, incompatible with the assumption of a rigid body with fully-damped pole and a moment of inertia factor of 0.34, as determined by gravity measurements.
Back when Cassini was approaching Saturn and we all anticipated the arrival of the Huygens payload on the surface, speculation grew that rather than finding a solid surface, Huygens might ‘splash down’ in a hydrocarbon sea. I can remember art to that effect in various Internet venues of the time. In the event, Huygens came down on hard terrain, but since then Cassini’s continuing surveys have shown that seas and lakes do exist on the moon. Over 1.6 million square kilometers (about two percent of the surface of Titan) are covered in liquid.
