Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1773178 | Icarus | 2014 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
Gravity measurements and elevation data from the Cassini mission have been used to create shape, global topography and gravity anomaly models of Titan that enable an improved understanding of its outer ice I shell structure. We provide constraints on the averaged ice shell thickness and its long-wavelength lateral variations, as well as the density of the subsurface ocean using gravity anomalies, the tidal Love number k2 measurement and long-wavelength topography. We found that Titan’s surface topography is consistent with an approximate isostatically compensated ice shell of variable thickness, likely in a thermally conductive or in a subcritical convective state, overlying a relatively dense subsurface ocean.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
Giuseppe Mitri, Rachele Meriggiola, Alex Hayes, Axel Lefevre, Gabriel Tobie, Antonio Genova, Jonathan I. Lunine, Howard Zebker,