The Intriguing Active Drainage System Into Titan's Ligeia Mare

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.

The "Magic Islands" of Titan's Ligeia Mare are Probably Large Waves

Titan’s “Magic Islands”: Transient features in a hydrocarbon sea

Authors:

Hofgartner et al

Abstract:

The region of Titan’s hydrocarbon sea, Ligeia Mare, where transient bright features were previously discovered, was anomalously bright in the first of two more recent Cassini RADAR observations but not the second. Another transient bright feature in a different region of Ligeia Mare was also discovered in the first of the new observations. Here we present all the high-resolution observations of the regions containing these transient features and the quantitative constraints that we derived from them. We argue that these features are unlikely to be SAR image artifacts or permanent geophysical structures and thus their appearance is the result of ephemeral phenomena on Titan. We find that the transient features are more consistent with floating and/or suspended solids, bubbles, and waves than tides, sea level change, or seafloor change and based on the frequency of these phenomena in terrestrial settings, we consider waves to be the most probable hypothesis. These transient features are the first instance of active processes in Titan’s lakes and seas to be confirmed by multiple detections and demonstrate that Titan’s seas are not stagnant but rather dynamic environments.

Did Cassini See an Iceberg in Titan's Northern Sea (Ligeia Mare)?

Transient features in a Titan sea

Authors:

Hofgartner et al

Abstract:

Titan’s surface–atmosphere system bears remarkable similarities to Earth’s, the most striking being an active, global methane cycle akin to Earth’s water cycle. Like the hydrological cycle of Earth, Titan’s seasonal methane cycle is driven by changes in the distribution of solar energy. The Cassini spacecraft, which arrived at Saturn in 2004 in the midst of northern winter and southern summer, has observed surface changes, including shoreline recession, at Titan’s south pole and equator. However, active surface processes have yet to be confirmed in the lakes and seas in Titan’s north polar region. As the 2017 northern summer solstice approaches, the onset of dynamic phenomena in this region is expected. Here we present the discovery of bright features in recent Cassini RADAR data that appeared in Titan’s northern sea, Ligeia Mare, in July 2013 and disappeared in subsequent observations. We suggest that these bright features are best explained by the occurrence of ephemeral phenomena such as surface waves, rising bubbles, and suspended or floating solids. We suggest that our observations are an initial glimpse of dynamic processes that are commencing in the northern lakes and seas as summer nears in the northern hemisphere.