| Title: |
Detection and mapping of hydrocarbon deposits on Titan |
| Authors: |
Clark, Roger; Curchin, John; Barnes, Jason; Jaumann, Ralf; Soderblom, Larry; Cruikshank, Dale; Brown, Robert; Rodriguez, Sébastien; Lunine, Jonathan; Stephan, Katrin; Hoefen, Todd; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Sotin, Christophe; Baines, Kevin; Buratti, Bonnie; Nicholson, Philip |
| Contributors: |
Planetary Science Institute Tucson (PSI); University of Idaho Moscow; Institute of Geological Sciences Berlin; Department of Earth Sciences Berlin; Freie Universität Berlin = Free University of Berlin-Freie Universität Berlin = Free University of Berlin; NASA Ames Research Center (ARC); Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Tucson (LPL); University of Arizona; Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)); Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes UMR 6112 (LPGN); Université de Nantes (UN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH); Department of Astronomy Ithaca; Cornell University New York |
| Source: |
ISSN: 0148-0227. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD; American Geophysical Union |
| Publication Year: |
2010 |
| Subject Terms: |
[PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] |
| Description: |
International audience ; We report the identification of compounds on Titan's surface by spatially resolved imaging spectroscopy methods through Titan's atmosphere, and set upper limits to other organic compounds. We present evidence for surface deposits of solid benzene (C 6 H 6), solid and/or liquid ethane (C 2 H 6), or methane (CH 4), and clouds of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) aerosols using diagnostic spectral features in data from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). Cyanoacetylene (2-propynenitrile, IUPAC nomenclature, HC 3 N) is indicated in spectra of some bright regions, but the spectral resolution of VIMS is insufficient to make a unique identification although it is a closer match to the feature previously attributed to CO 2. We identify benzene, an aromatic hydrocarbon, in larger abundances than expected by some models. Acetylene (C 2 H 2), expected to be more abundant on Titan according to some models than benzene, is not detected. Solid acetonitrile (CH 3 CN) or other nitriles might be candidates for matching other spectral features in some Titan spectra. An as yet unidentified absorption at 5.01-mm indicates that yet another compound exists on Titan's surface. We place upper limits for liquid methane and ethane in some locations on Titan and find local areas consistent with millimeter path lengths. Except for potential lakes in the southern and northern polar regions, most of Titan appears "dry." Finally, we find there is little evidence for exposed water ice on the surface. Water ice, if present, must be covered with organic compounds to the depth probed by 1-5-mm photons: a few millimeters to centimeters. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1029/2009je003369 |
| Availability: |
https://u-paris.hal.science/hal-03657755; https://u-paris.hal.science/hal-03657755v1/document; https://u-paris.hal.science/hal-03657755v1/file/2010_JGR_Clark_Titan-surface-composition-hydrocarbons.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2009je003369 |
| Rights: |
https://hal.science/licences/copyright/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.CFB46007 |
| Database: |
BASE |