title: Evidence for the exposure of water ice on Titan's surface.
abstract: The smoggy stratosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, veils its surface from view, except at narrow wavelengths centered at 0.83, 0.94, 1.07, 1.28, 1.58, 2.0, 2.9, and 5.0 micrometers. We derived a spectrum of Titan's surface within these "windows" and detected features characteristic of water ice. Therefore, despite the hundreds of meters of organic liquids and solids hypothesized to exist on Titan's surface, its icy bedrock lies extensively exposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092, USA. griffith@lpl.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Caitlin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Geballe
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rannou
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D007053:Ice; D008697:Methane; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D018539:Saturn; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D014867:Water; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D008697:Methane