Methane, Ethane Waves May Be Responsible for Eroding and Reshaping of Titan’s Lakeshores

Methane, Ethane Waves May Be Responsible for Eroding and Reshaping of Titan's Lakeshores
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Kelvinsong)

Saturn's largest moon -- Titan -- may have another similarity with Earth. Researchers discovered that waves of liquid methane and ethane lapping on the shores.

Liquid Methane and Ethane Waves on Titan

The first glimpse of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, was unveiled nearly two decades ago when the Cassini spacecraft and its Huygens lander peered under the murky atmosphere, revealing its bizarre yet familiar surface. According to the Cassini-Huygens probe, toxic liquids such as ethane and methane create a patchwork of rivers, streams, and even seas the size of the Great Lakes that resemble Earth.

In a new study, scientists studying Cassini's pictures have concluded that there are waves on Titan. According to them, the waves may have eroded and reshaped Titan's lakeshores.

Initially, the researchers created a computer model that represented the evolution of shorelines under three distinct scenarios: total erosion, erosion caused by crashing waves, and erosion caused by liquid gently eroding the material along the lakeside. They then verified their simulation results with Cassini's observations.

Although Titan's dense clouds prevent us from seeing the moon's surface with visible light, Cassini's radar sensor allowed it to map Titan's mountains, canyons, and shorelines. The largest Titanian lake, Kraken Mare, is comparable in size to the greatest lake on Earth, the Caspian Sea. The researchers identified Cassini signs of four exceptionally huge Titanian lakes.

Then, using the contours of those four lakes, the researchers reran their simulations to see which of the three processes resulted in shorelines that most closely resembled what Cassini had observed. Wave erosion was the closest.

These findings represent the most recent round of continuing discussion about whether Titan has waves. Rose Palermo, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, claims that several observers who looked for evidence of waves claimed to have seen none and that the waters were mirror-smooth. Some also reported observing roughness on the liquid's surface, but they weren't positive if waves were to blame.

If Titan does have waves, then Titanian winds are probably responsible for their dispersal. Palermo and his coauthors now wish to investigate the waves to find out more about those winds, including their strength and direction of travel.

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About Titan

Titan is an icy world with a golden, hazy atmosphere that hides the surface. It's the second-largest moon in our solar system, next to Jupiter's Ganymede. Titan is larger than both the Earth's moon and the planet Mercury.

Aside from Earth, this enormous moon is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere and the only planet with surface-dwelling bodies of liquid, such as lakes, rivers, and seas.

Titan's atmosphere contains mostly nitrogen with a bit of methane, just like Earth's. It is the only other location in the solar system where liquids fall from clouds, flow across its surface, fill lakes and seas, and then evaporate back into the sky, much like the water cycle on Earth. There is also a theory that Titan has an underwater ocean.