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Title:
Possible tropical lakes on Titan from observations of dark terrain
Authors:
Griffith, Caitlin A.; Lora, Juan M.; Turner, Jake; Penteado, Paulo F.; Brown, Robert H.; Tomasko, Martin G.; Doose, Lyn; See, Charles
Affiliation:
AA(), AB(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA), AC(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA), AD(Universidade de São Paulo, IAG, Rua do Matao 1226, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brazil), AE(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA), AF(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA), AG(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA), AH(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA)
Publication:
Nature, Volume 486, Issue 7402, pp. 237-239 (2012). (Nature Homepage)
Publication Date:
06/2012
Origin:
NATURE
Abstract Copyright:
(c) 2012: Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
DOI:
10.1038/nature11165
Bibliographic Code:
2012Natur.486..237G

Abstract

Titan has clouds, rain and lakes--like Earth--but composed of methane rather than water. Unlike Earth, most of the condensable methane (the equivalent of 5m depth globally averaged) lies in the atmosphere. Liquid detected on the surface (about 2m deep) has been found by radar images only poleward of 50° latitude, while dune fields pervade the tropics. General circulation models explain this dichotomy, predicting that methane efficiently migrates to the poles from these lower latitudes. Here we report an analysis of near-infrared spectral images of the region between 20°N and 20°S latitude. The data reveal that the lowest fluxes in seven wavelength bands that probe Titan's surface occur in an oval region of about 60×40km2, which has been observed repeatedly since 2004. Radiative transfer analyses demonstrate that the resulting spectrum is consistent with a black surface, indicative of liquid methane on the surface. Enduring low-latitude lakes are best explained as supplied by subterranean sources (within the last 10,000 years), which may be responsible for Titan's methane, the continual photochemical depletion of which furnishes Titan's organic chemistry.
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