Devon M. Burr

Near-infrared (0.8-4.0 µm) spectroscopy of Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, and Rhea

Spectral measurements from the ground in the time leading up to the Cassini mission at Saturn provide important context for the interpretation of the forthcoming spacecraft data. Whereas ground-based observations cannot begin to approach the spatial scales Cassini will achieve, they do possess the benefits of better spectral resolution, a broader possible time baseline, and unique veiewing geometries not obtained by spacecraft (i.e., opposition). In this spirit, we present recent NIR reflectance spectra of four icy satellites of Saturn measured with the SpeX instrument at the IRTF. These measurements cover the range 0.8-4.0 µm of both the leading and trailing sides of Tethys and the leading side of Rhea. The L-band region (2.8-4.0 µm) offers new opportunities for searches of minor components on these objects. Additionally, these data include 0.8-2.5 µm spectra of both the leading and trailing sides of Mimas and of the (mostly) trailing side of Enceladus. The spectrum of Enceladus shows activity near 2.25 µm that we interpret as a possible signature of NH3 ice. The presence of ammonia in the Saturn system is not unexpected, and may help explain the apparent recent geologic activity of Enceladus. Analysis of leading/trailing differences in H2O band depths, spectral slopes, and albedo imply a separate regime of surface modification for Mimas and Enceladus than for the more distant icy satellites (Tethys, Dione, Rhea). Aside from the potential NH3 on Enceladus, no other minor constituents are detected in these icy surfaces.

NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF TROJAN ASTEROIDS: EVIDENCE FOR TWO COMPOSITIONAL GROUPS

The Trojan asteroids, a very substantial population of primitive bodies trapped in Jupiters stable Lagrange regions, remain quite poorly understood. Because they occupy these orbits, the physical properties of Trojans provide a unique perspective on the chemical and dynamical processes that shaped the Solar System. The current study was therefore undertaken to investigate surface compositions of these objects. We present 66 new near-infrared (NIR; 0.7-2.5??m) spectra of 58 Trojan asteroids, including members of both the leading and trailing swarms. We also include in the analysis previously published NIR spectra of 13 Trojans (3 of which overlap with the new sample). This data set permits not only a direct search for compositional signatures, but also a search for patterns that may reveal clues to the origin of the Trojans. We do not report any confirmed absorption features in the new spectra. Analysis of the spectral slopes, however, reveals an interesting bimodality among the NIR data. The two spectral groups identified appear to be equally abundant in the leading and trailing swarms. The spectral groups are not a result of family membership; they occur in the background, non-family population. The average albedos of the two groups are the same within uncertainties (0.051 ? 0.016 and 0.055 ? 0.016). No correlations between spectral slope and any other physical or orbital parameter are detected, with the exception of a possible weak correlation with inclination among the less-red spectral group. The NIR spectral groups are consistent with a similar bimodality previously suggested among visible colors and spectra. Synthesizing the present results with previously published properties of Trojans, we conclude that the two spectral groups represent objects with different intrinsic compositions. We further suggest that whereas the less-red group originated near Jupiter or in the main asteroid belt, the redder spectral group originated farther out in the Solar System. If this suggestion is correct, the Trojan swarms offer the most readily accessible large reservoir of Kuiper Belt material as well as a unique reservoir for the study of material from the middle part of the solar nebula.

Fluvial features on Titan: Insights from morphology and modeling

Fluvial features on Titan have been identified in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data taken during spacecraft flybys by the Cassini Titan Radar Mapper (RADAR) and in Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) images taken during descent of the Huygens probe to the surface. Interpretations using terrestrial analogs and process mechanics extend our perspective on fluvial geomorphology to another world and offer insight into their formative processes. At the landscape scale, the varied morphologies of Titan’s fluvial networks imply a variety of mechanical controls, including structural influence, on channelized flows. At the reach scale, the various morphologies of individual fluvial features, implying a broad range of fluvial processes, suggest that (paleo-)flows did not occupy the entire observed width of the features. DISR images provide a spatially limited view of uplands dissected by valley networks, also likely formed by overland flows, which are not visible in lower-resolution SAR data. This high-resolution snapshot suggests that some fluvial features observed in SAR data may be river valleys rather than channels, and that uplands elsewhere on Titan may also have fine-scale fluvial dissection that is not resolved in SAR data. Radar-bright terrain with crenulated bright and dark bands is hypothesized here to be a signature of fine-scale fluvial dissection. Fluvial deposition is inferred to occur in braided channels, in (paleo)lake basins, and on SAR-dark plains, and DISR images at the surface indicate the presence of fluvial sediment. Flow sufficient to move sediment is inferred from observations and modeling of atmospheric processes, which support the inference from surface morphology of precipitation-fed fluvial processes. With material properties appropriate for Titan, terrestrial hydraulic equations are applicable to flow on Titan for fully turbulent flow and rough boundaries. For low-Reynolds-number flow over smooth boundaries, however, knowledge of fluid kinematic viscosity is necessary. Sediment movement and bed form development should occur at lower bed shear stress on Titan than on Earth. Scaling bedrock erosion, however, is hampered by uncertainties regarding Titan material properties. Overall, observations of Titan point to a world pervasively influenced by fluvial processes, for which appropriate terrestrial analogs and formulations may provide insight.

Fluvial network analysis on Titan: Evidence for subsurface structures and west‐to‐east wind flow, southwestern Xanadu

[1] Data of Titan’s surface from the Cassini-Huygens mission show inferred fluvial networks interpreted as products of liquid alkane flow. Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, we delineated drainage networks, measured network parameters, and used these measurements in a simplified algorithm for classifying terrestrial drainage patterns. The results show a variety of patterns, indicating that a variety of factors control fluvial drainage on Titan. Drainage network patterns in southwestern Xanadu are classified as rectangular, suggesting control by a subsurface tectonic structural fabric. Link orientations also suggest that thissubsurfacetectonicfabricisorientedpredominantlyeastwest. Spatial variations in drainage networks are consistent with a west-to-east precipitation pattern, supporting inferences from aeolian dune morphology. These results illustrate how fluvial landform analysis can yield new information on both atmospheric and subsurface processes. Citation: Burr, D. M., R. E. Jacobsen, D. L. Roth, C. B. Phillips, K. L. Mitchell, and D. Viola (2009), Fluvial network analysis on Titan: Evidence for subsurface structures and west-to-east wind flow, southwestern Xanadu, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L22203,

Estimating erosional exhumation on Titan from drainage network morphology

[1] Drainage networks on Titan, Earth, and Mars provide the only known examples of non-volcanic fluvial activity in our solar system. The drainage networks on Titan are apparently the result of a methane-ethane cycle similar to Earth’s water cycle. The scarcity of impact craters and the uneven distribution of fluvial dissection on Titan suggest that the surface may be relatively young. The purpose of this study is to assess the importance of erosion relative to other plausible mechanisms of resurfacing such as tectonic deformation, cryovolcanism, or deposition of aerosols. We present a new method, based on a measure of drainage network shape known as the width function, to estimate cumulative erosion into an initially rough surface. We calibrate this method with a numerical landscape evolution model, and successfully test the method by applying it to river networks on Earth with different exhumation histories. To estimate erosional exhumation on Titan, we mapped fluvial networks in all Synthetic Aperture Radar swaths obtained by the Cassini spacecraft through T71. Application of our method to the most completely imaged drainage networks indicates that for two of four regions analyzed, Titan’s fluvial networks have produced only minor erosional modification of the surface. For the best-constrained region in the northern high latitudes, we find that fluvial networks reflect spatially averaged erosion of more than 0.4% but less than 9% of the initial topographic relief. This result implies either a recent, non-fluvial resurfacing event or long-term fluvial incision rates that are slow relative to the rate of resurfacing.

A review of open-channel megflood depositional landforms on Earth and Mars

Large freshwater floods on Earth in recent times and in the Quaternary have often been associated with catastrophic out-bursts of water from lakes impounded by glacial-ice or debris (such as moraine). In either case, large-scale depositional sedimentary landforms are found along the courses of the floodwaters. On Mars, similar floods are believed to have resulted from catastrophic efflux of water from within the Martian surface. Within the Martian flood tracts, landforms have been imaged that appear similar to those identified on Earth. These are primarily suites of giant bars – “streamlined forms” – of varying morphology that occur primarily as longitudinal features within the floodways and along the margins as well as in areas of the floodways that were sheltered from the main flow. In addition, flow-transverse bedforms within the floodways have been identified as giant sedimentary dunes or antidunes. Information concerning the flood hydraulics that created these forms may be deduced from their location and plan view morphology. Some other fluvial landforms which have been associated with megafloods on Earth have yet to be identified on Mars. The examples from Earth are described, so as to spur the search for further water-lain landforms on Mars

Higher-than-predicted saltation threshold wind speeds on Titan

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, exhibits extensive aeolian, that is, wind-formed, dunes, features previously identified exclusively on Earth, Mars and Venus. Wind tunnel data collected under ambient and planetary-analogue conditions inform our models of aeolian processes on the terrestrial planets. However, the accuracy of these widely used formulations in predicting the threshold wind speeds required to move sand by saltation, or by short bounces, has not been tested under conditions relevant for non-terrestrial planets. Here we derive saltation threshold wind speeds under the thick-atmosphere, low-gravity and low-sediment-density conditions on Titan, using a high-pressure wind tunnel refurbished to simulate the appropriate kinematic viscosity for the near-surface atmosphere of Titan. The experimentally derived saltation threshold wind speeds are higher than those predicted by models based on terrestrial-analogue experiments, indicating the limitations of these models for such extreme conditions. The models can be reconciled with the experimental results by inclusion of the extremely low ratio of particle density to fluid density on Titan. Whereas the density ratio term enables accurate modelling of aeolian entrainment in thick atmospheres, such as those inferred for some extrasolar planets, our results also indicate that for environments with high density ratios, such as in jets on icy satellites or in tenuous atmospheres or exospheres, the correction for low-density-ratio conditions is not required.

Fluvial geomorphology on Earth-like planetary surfaces: A review

Morphological evidence for ancient channelized flows (fluvial and fluvial-like landforms) exists on the surfaces of all of the inner planets and on some of the satellites of the Solar System. In some cases, the relevant fluid flows are related to a planetary evolution that involves the global cycling of a volatile component (water for Earth and Mars; methane for Saturns moon Titan). In other cases, as on Mercury, Venus, Earths moon, and Jupiters moon Io, the flows were of highly fluid lava. The discovery, in 1972, of what are now known to be fluvial channels and valleys on Mars sparked a major controversy over the role of water in shaping the surface of that planet. The recognition of the fluvial character of these features has opened unresolved fundamental questions about the geological history of water on Mars, including the presence of an ancient ocean and the operation of a hydrological cycle during the earliest phases of planetary history. Other fundamental questions posed by fluvial and fluvial-like features on planetary bodies include the possible erosive action of large-scale outpourings of very fluid lavas, such as those that may have produced the remarkable canali forms on Venus; the ability of exotic fluids, such as methane, to create fluvial-like landforms, as observed on Saturns moon, Titan; and the nature of sedimentation and erosion under different conditions of planetary surface gravity. Planetary fluvial geomorphology also illustrates fundamental epistemological and methodological issues, including the role of analogy in geomorphological/geological inquiry.

Greater contrast in Martian hydrological history from more accurate estimates of paleodischarge

Correlative width-discharge relationships from the Missouri River Basin are commonly used to estimate fluvial paleodischarge on Mars. However, hydraulic geometry provides alternative, and causal, width-discharge relationships derived from broader samples of channels, including those in reduced-gravity (submarine) environments. Comparison of these relationships implies that causal relationships from hydraulic geometry should yield more accurate and more precise discharge estimates. Our remote analysis of a Martian-terrestrial analog channel, combined with in situ discharge data, substantiates this implication. Applied to Martian features, these results imply paleodischarges of interior channels of Noachian-Hesperian (~3.7 Ga) valley networks have been underestimated by a factor of several, whereas paleodischarges for smaller fluvial deposits of the Late Hesperian-Early Amazonian (~3.0 Ga) have been overestimated. Thus, these new paleodischarges significantly magnify the contrast between early and late Martian hydrologic activity. Width-discharge relationships from hydraulic geometry represent validated tools for quantifying fluvial input near candidate landing sites of upcoming missions.

Shallow normal fault slopes on Saturnian icy satellites

Fault dips are a function of the coefficient of internal friction, μi, of the lithospheric material. Laboratory deformation experiments of H2O ice at conditions applicable to icy bodies yield 0 ≤ μi ≤ 0.55 such that normal faults dip between 45° and 59°. We tested the hypothesis that normal faults on icy bodies reflect these values by using digital elevation models to examine geometries of large extensional systems on three Saturnian satellites. Analyzed faults within Ithaca Chasma on Tethys and Avaiki Chasmata on Rhea all exhibit shallower-than-predicted topographic slopes across the fault scarp, which we term ‘fault slopes’. A scarp of Padua Chasmata within Diones Wispy Terrain also has a shallow fault slope, although three others that make up Palatine Chasmata exhibit steeper slopes as predicted. We infer that viscous relaxation is the most viable explanation for these shallow fault slopes, and we model the potential role of viscous relaxation in creating shallow fault slopes. Our modeling results support formation of these normal faults with steep dips consistent with deformation experiments, followed by their relaxation due to lithospheric heating events related to radionuclide decay. The steepest fault slopes in this terrain yield 0 ≤ μi ≤ 0.73 for Diones lithospheric ice, which overlaps the dip range predicted from experiments. Results of this work suggest that viscous relaxation substantially affected fault slopes on Tethys, Rhea, and Dione. By implication, these processes may have also affected fault geometries on other icy satellites.