Dynamics of an ice continent on Titan

If the large, high‐albedo surface feature on Titan's leading hemisphere is an elevated “continent” composed mainly of water ice, it will deform under its own weight. We present a model for the axisymmetric spreading of this hypothesized continent based on the similarity solution of Halfar [1983] and the approach of Nye [2000]. We find that the thickness of the model continent is dictated by the spreading time, whereas topographic relief is controlled primarily by isostatic effects. For a mantle density of 1000 kg m −3 , the relief of an isostatically supported continent on Titan is not likely to exceed ∼3–7 km.