Tidal effects of disconnected hydrocarbon seas on Titan.
Thermodynamic and photochemical arguments suggest that Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has a deep ocean of liquid hydrocarbons. At visible wavelengths, Titan's surface is obscured by a thick stratospheric haze, but radar observations have revealed large regions of high surface reflectivity that are inconsistent with a global hydrocarbon ocean. Titan's surface has also been imaged at infrared wavelengths, and the highest-resolution data (obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope) show clear variations in surface albedo and/or topography. The natural interpretation of these observations is that Titan, like the Earth, has continents and oceans. But Titan's high orbital eccentricity poses a problem for this interpretation, as the effects of oceanic tidal friction would have circularized Titan's orbit for most configurations of oceans and continents. Here we argue that a more realistic topography, in which liquid hydrocarbons are confined to a number of disconnected seas or crater lakes, may satisfy both the dynamical and observational constraints.
Dermott
S F
SF
Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-2055.
Sagan
C
C
D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D018539:Saturn; D016082:Solar System; D013816:Thermodynamics
D006838:Hydrocarbons