Are Titan's Lakes Liquid-filled?

K. L. Mitchell (1) , Philippe Paillou (2, 3, 4) , B. W. Stiles (1) , H. Zebker (5) , G. Mitri (1) , J.I. Lunine (6) , S. Wall (1) , R. D. Lorenz (7) , R. M. C. Lopes (1) , S. Hensley (1) , E. R. Stofan (8) , R. L. Kirk (8) , S. J. Ostro (1) , F. Paganelli (1)

1 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
2 LAB - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac]
3 OASU - Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers
4 L3AB - Laboratoire d'astrodynamique, d'astrophysique et d'aéronomie de bordeaux
5 Department of Electrical Engineering [Stanford]
6 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson]
7 APL - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD]
8 Proxemy Research Inc

SAR imagery obtained during Cassini's T16 Titan fly-by revealed numerous radar-dark features at > ~70° N, interpreted to be lakes [1] on the basis of their low radar reflectivity, morphology and consistency with predictions [2]. Later fly-bys revealed more lakes, and also overlapped with previous scenes, facilitating multi-angle, multi-temporal studies, with several more such opportunities over the coming months. Here we introduce our efforts to understand the nature of the lakes using such studies, focusing on one anomalous lake in particular, and address the issue of whether the observed lakes are liquid-filled or dry.

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Astrophysique [astro-ph]

K. L. Mitchell, Philippe Paillou, B. W. Stiles, H. Zebker, G. Mitri, et al.. Are Titan's Lakes Liquid-filled?. 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, (Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII), held March 12-16, 2007 in League City, Texas., 2007, United States. ⟨hal-00159576⟩