Discovery of lake-effect clouds on Titan

Geophysical Research Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

Images from instruments on Cassini as well as from telescopes on the ground reveal the presence of sporadic small-scale cloud activity in the cold late-winter north polar region of Saturn's large moon Titan. These clouds lie underneath the previously discovered uniform polar cloud attributed to a quiescent ethane cloud at ???40 km and appear confined to the same latitudes as those of the largest known hydrocarbon lakes at the north pole of Titan. The physical properties of these clouds suggest that they are due to methane convection and condensation. Such convection could be caused by a process in some ways analogous to terrestrial lake-effect clouds. The lakes on Titan could be a key connection between the surface and the meteorological cycle. ?? 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Discovery of lake-effect clouds on Titan
Series title Geophysical Research Letters
DOI 10.1029/2008GL035964
Volume 36
Issue 1
Year Published 2009
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Geophysical Research Letters
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