Open AccessMountains on Titan: Modeling and observations
Author(s) -
Mitri Giuseppe,
Bland Michael T.,
Showman Adam P.,
Radebaugh Jani,
Stiles Bryan,
Lopes Rosaly M. C.,
Lunine Jonathan I.,
Pappalardo Robert T.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2010je003592
Subject(s) - titan (rocket family) , geology , lithosphere , synthetic aperture radar , tectonics , geophysics , radar , heat flux , hotspot (geology) , geodesy , astrobiology , seismology , remote sensing , heat transfer , thermodynamics , telecommunications , physics , computer science
We have developed a thermal model of Titan's interior to study changes in volume during partial freezing or melting of a subsurface ocean due to heat flux variations from the interior. We find that the long‐term cooling of Titan can cause global volume contraction Δ V / V ∼0.01. We then simulate two‐dimensional contractional deformation of Titan's icy lithosphere, finding that contractional deformation can produce tectonic activity and fold formation. Folds could potentially achieve a topographic height of several kilometers for high local strain (∼0.16), and for high temperature gradients in the ice I shell (order of 10 K km −1 ), corresponding to an ancient high heat flux from the interior (order of 0.02–0.06 W m −2 ). Examination of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery obtained by Cassini Radar shows possible evidence of contractional tectonism in the equatorial regions of Titan, although the moderate resolution of the Cassini SAR imagery does not permit an unambiguous geological interpretation.