Erosion on Titan: Past and Present
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چکیده
on which water ice has been positively identified. It is unlikely to be pure, although the nature, amount, and We examine various mechanisms of erosion on Titan and their likely effect on Titan’s geomorphology. Specifically we distribution of the contaminants (silicates, organics, and evaluate the solubility of likely crustal ices (water and ammoperhaps ammonia–water ice) are not known, but see Cousnia) in liquid methane and ethane, and compare these with the tenis et al. (1995) for recent work. The presence of atmosolubility of rocks on Earth. Aeolian and diurnal weathering spheric methane (which has a short photolytic lifetime) is can be neglected, and glacial erosion is unlikely unless the evidence, albeit circumstantial, of one or more reservoirs atmosphere has frozen out in the past. Erosion due to rainfall on or near the surface of liquid hydrocarbons. The data is at most comparable to periglacial environments on Earth. available at present are inadequate to confirm or deny the We find that additional laboratory experiments are required if existence of such reservoirs, which could be seas, lakes, Cassini observations are to be adequately interpreted. 1996 underground caverns, or ‘‘soaked’’ regolith. Academic Press, Inc. We consider not only Titan’s present atmosphere and climate conditions, but also three possible paleoclimates.
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تاریخ انتشار 1996