Active shoreline of Ontario Lacus, Titan: A morphological study of the lake and its surroundings
Abstract
Of more than 400 filled lakes now identified on Titan, the first and largest reported in the southern latitudes is Ontario Lacus, which is dark in both infrared and microwave. Here we describe recent observations including synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images by Cassini's radar instrument (λ = 2 cm) and show morphological evidence for active material transport and erosion. Ontario Lacus lies in a shallow depression, with greater relief on the southwestern shore and a gently sloping, possibly wave-generated beach to the northeast. The lake has a closed internal drainage system fed by Earth-like rivers, deltas and alluvial fans. Evidence for active shoreline processes, including the wave-modified lakefront and deltaic deposition, indicates that Ontario is a dynamic feature undergoing typical terrestrial forms of littoral modification.
Additional Information
© 2010 American Geophysical Union. Received 19 November 2009; accepted 14 January 2010; published 6 March 2010. We acknowledge contributions made by the Cassini RADAR Instrument Development Teams, both at Alenia Aerospazio and at JPL; the RADAR Instrument Operations Team; and the Cassini Project spacecraft development and operations teams. The Cassini Program is a joint venture of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and the European Space Agency (ESA). J.L. was funded in part by the program 'Incentivazione alla mobilità di studiosi stranieri e italiani residenti all'estero' of Italy. Portions of this work were performed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA.Attached Files
Published - Wall2010p7326Geophys_Res_Lett.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 17792
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20100324-111400821
- Incentivazione alla mobilità di studiosi stranieri e italiani residenti all'estero
- Created
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2010-03-30Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field