Arid
DOI10.1016/j.icarus.2017.10.034
Crater relaxation on Titan aided by low thermal conductivity sand infill
Schurmeier, Lauren R.; Dombard, Andrew J.
通讯作者Schurmeier, Lauren R.
来源期刊ICARUS
ISSN0019-1035
EISSN1090-2643
出版年2018
卷号305页码:314-323
英文摘要

Titan’s few impact craters are currently many hundreds of meters shallower than the depths expected. Assuming these craters initially had depths equal to that of similar-size fresh craters on Ganymede and Callisto (moons of similar size, composition, and target lithology), then some process has shallowed them over time. Since nearly all of Titan’s recognized craters are located within the arid equatorial sand seas of organic-rich dunes, where rain is infrequent, and atmospheric sedimentation is expected to be low, it has been suggested that aeolian infill plays a major role in shallowing the craters. Topographic relaxation at Titan’s current heat flow was previously assumed to be an unimportant process on Titan due to its low surface temperature (94 K). However, our estimate of the thermal conductivity of Titan’s organic-rich sand is remarkably low (0.025 W m(-1) K-1), and when in thick deposits, will result in a thermal blanketing effect that can aid relaxation. Here, we simulate the relaxation of Titan’s craters Afekan, Soi, and Sinlap including thermal effects of various amounts of sand inside and around Titan’s craters. We find that the combination of aeolian infill and subsequent relaxation can produce the current crater depths in a geologically reasonable period of time using Titan’s current heat flow. Instead of needing to fill completely the missing volume with 100% sand, only similar to 62%, similar to 71%, and similar to 97%, of the volume need be sand at the current basal heat flux for Afekan, Soi, and Sinlap, respectively. We conclude that both processes are likely at work shallowing these craters, and this finding contributes to why Titan overall lacks impact craters in the arid equatorial regions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


英文关键词Titan Titan-surface Cratering Geophysics Regolith
类型Article
语种英语
国家USA
收录类别SCI-E
WOS记录号WOS:000426335400024
WOS关键词CASSINI RADAR ; VIMS OBSERVATIONS ; SURFACE ; DUNE ; ICE ; TOPOGRAPHY ; FEATURES ; HISTORY ; EJECTA ; SEAS
WOS类目Astronomy & Astrophysics
WOS研究方向Astronomy & Astrophysics
资源类型期刊论文
条目标识符http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/209958
作者单位Univ Illinois, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, 845 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL USA
推荐引用方式
GB/T 7714
Schurmeier, Lauren R.,Dombard, Andrew J.. Crater relaxation on Titan aided by low thermal conductivity sand infill[J],2018,305:314-323.
APA Schurmeier, Lauren R.,&Dombard, Andrew J..(2018).Crater relaxation on Titan aided by low thermal conductivity sand infill.ICARUS,305,314-323.
MLA Schurmeier, Lauren R.,et al."Crater relaxation on Titan aided by low thermal conductivity sand infill".ICARUS 305(2018):314-323.
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