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Title: CASSINI VIMS OBSERVATIONS SHOW ETHANE IS PRESENT IN TITAN'S RAINFALL

Abstract

Observations obtained over two years by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem suggest that rain showers fall on the surface. Using measurements obtained by the Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, we identify the main component of the rain to be ethane, with methane as an additional component. We observe five or six probable rainfall events, at least one of which follows a brief equatorial cloud appearance, suggesting that frequent rainstorms occur on Titan. The rainfall evaporates, sublimates, or infiltrates on timescales of months, and in some cases it is associated with fluvial features but not with their creation or alteration. Thus, Titan exhibits frequent 'gentle rainfall' instead of, or in addition to, more catastrophic events that cut rivers and lay down large fluvial deposits. Freezing rain may also be present, and the standing liquid may exist as puddles interspersed with patches of frost. The extensive dune deposits found in the equatorial regions of Titan imply multi-season arid conditions there, which are consistent with small, but possibly frequent, amounts of rain, in analogy to terrestrial deserts.

Authors:
; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
  2. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
  3. Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 (United States)
  4. United States Geological Survey, Denver, CO 80225 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22078372
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 761; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CLOUDS; DEPOSITS; ETHANE; INFRARED SPECTROMETERS; MAPPING; METHANE; PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS; PLANETS; SATURN PLANET; SEASONS; SOLAR SYSTEM

Citation Formats

Dalba, Paul A, Buratti, Bonnie J, Baines, Kevin H, Sotin, Christophe, Lawrence, Kenneth J, Brown, Robert H, Barnes, Jason W, Clark, Roger N, and Nicholson, Philip D., E-mail: pauldalba@berkeley.edu. CASSINI VIMS OBSERVATIONS SHOW ETHANE IS PRESENT IN TITAN'S RAINFALL. United States: N. p., 2012. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/761/2/L24.
Dalba, Paul A, Buratti, Bonnie J, Baines, Kevin H, Sotin, Christophe, Lawrence, Kenneth J, Brown, Robert H, Barnes, Jason W, Clark, Roger N, & Nicholson, Philip D., E-mail: pauldalba@berkeley.edu. CASSINI VIMS OBSERVATIONS SHOW ETHANE IS PRESENT IN TITAN'S RAINFALL. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/761/2/L24
Dalba, Paul A, Buratti, Bonnie J, Baines, Kevin H, Sotin, Christophe, Lawrence, Kenneth J, Brown, Robert H, Barnes, Jason W, Clark, Roger N, and Nicholson, Philip D., E-mail: pauldalba@berkeley.edu. 2012. "CASSINI VIMS OBSERVATIONS SHOW ETHANE IS PRESENT IN TITAN'S RAINFALL". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/761/2/L24.
@article{osti_22078372,
title = {CASSINI VIMS OBSERVATIONS SHOW ETHANE IS PRESENT IN TITAN'S RAINFALL},
author = {Dalba, Paul A and Buratti, Bonnie J and Baines, Kevin H and Sotin, Christophe and Lawrence, Kenneth J and Brown, Robert H and Barnes, Jason W and Clark, Roger N and Nicholson, Philip D., E-mail: pauldalba@berkeley.edu},
abstractNote = {Observations obtained over two years by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem suggest that rain showers fall on the surface. Using measurements obtained by the Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, we identify the main component of the rain to be ethane, with methane as an additional component. We observe five or six probable rainfall events, at least one of which follows a brief equatorial cloud appearance, suggesting that frequent rainstorms occur on Titan. The rainfall evaporates, sublimates, or infiltrates on timescales of months, and in some cases it is associated with fluvial features but not with their creation or alteration. Thus, Titan exhibits frequent 'gentle rainfall' instead of, or in addition to, more catastrophic events that cut rivers and lay down large fluvial deposits. Freezing rain may also be present, and the standing liquid may exist as puddles interspersed with patches of frost. The extensive dune deposits found in the equatorial regions of Titan imply multi-season arid conditions there, which are consistent with small, but possibly frequent, amounts of rain, in analogy to terrestrial deserts.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/761/2/L24},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22078372}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 2,
volume = 761,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2012},
month = {Thu Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2012}
}