Linear Dunes on Titan

摘要

Landforms and deposits created by the dynamic interactions between granular material and airflow occur on several planetary bodies, including Earth, Mars, and Venus. Recent orbital image data indicate that such aeolian (wind-produced) landforms and deposits also occur on Titan, as originally predicted by Greeley (1). As reported on page 724 of this issue, Lorenz and colleagues have analyzed high-resolution radar image data of Titan and conclude that extensive areas of dark linear features are directly comparable to large linear desert dune fields on Earth (2). This interpretation provides intriguing new information on the nature of surface processes on one of Saturn's moons, one of the few in the solar system known to possess an atmosphere.