Radar-Bright Channels on Titan

Alice Le Gall (1) , M. A. Janssen (2) , R. D. Lorenz (3) , H. Zebker (4) , L. Wye (5) , Philippe Paillou (6, 7, 8)

1 PLANETO - LATMOS
2 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
3 APL - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD]
4 Department of Electrical Engineering [Stanford]
5 Stanford University
6 L3AB - Laboratoire d'astrodynamique, d'astrophysique et d'aéronomie de bordeaux
7 OASU - Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers
8 LAB - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac]

The Cassini SAR observed channels in the Xanadu region of Titan which exhibit very large radar cross-sections. We propose the presence of (transparent) rounded, icy rocks with size larger than the radar wavelength (2.18 cm) to explain observations.

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]

Alice Le Gall, M. A. Janssen, R. D. Lorenz, H. Zebker, L. Wye, et al.. Radar-Bright Channels on Titan. 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Science XL, Mar 2009, The Woodland, Texas, United States. pp.id.1533. ⟨hal-00405346⟩