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Cassini imaging of Titan's high-latitude lakes, clouds, and south-polar surface changes
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) has been observing Titan since April 2004, compiling a nearly global surface map and monitoring the surface and atmosphere for activity. Early images of the south-polar region revealed numerous dark surface features and contemporaneous convective cloud systems, suggesting the presence of hydrocarbon lakes similar to those later detected at Titan's North Pole. Intriguingly, repeated south-polar imaging by ISS revealed differences consistent with ponding of hydrocarbon liquids on the surface due to precipitation from a large storm. More recent ISS images of high northern latitudes illustrate the full extents (>500,000 km2) of hydrocarbon seas, sections of which have been observed by Cassini's RADAR. These observations demonstrate dynamic processes at work on Titan and that the poles harbor liquid-hydrocarbon reservoirs, the extents of which differ from pole to pole and which may be coupled to seasonally varying circulation.
Received 1 October 2008; accepted 10 December 2008; published 29 January 2009.
Citation: (2009), Cassini imaging of Titan's high-latitude lakes, clouds, and south-polar surface changes, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L02204, doi:10.1029/2008GL036186.
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