Lakes in the limelight, the 2013 image bonanza continues Options

[ngunn]

A fantastic collection of new images of the northern lakes has just arrived: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawi...?imageID=298704

[rlorenz]

Short new paper out in JGR (Open Access) summarizing and contextualizing the bathymetry results from Cassini. Was quite pleased with the summary figure

http://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006786

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[JRehling]

I notice that for the three northern tracks, where ethane abundance is estimated, it increases from north to south. With three data points, there's a 33% probability of getting them in order by random, so that's very far from significance, but I wonder if it means that methane could be entering from the north on a systematic basis. E.g., higher rainfall rates near the pole. I'm thinking of this by analogy with the salinity in the San Francisco Bay, where places near to where rivers flow in have lower salinity and the salinity is highest near the Golden Gate.

Of course, this is reading a lot into a little data.

[rlorenz]

I wonder if it means that methane could be entering from the north on a systematic basis. E.g., higher rainfall rates near the pole. -Of course, this is reading a lot into a little data.

Well, this is exactly the paradigm I suggested (based on even less data!) in my 2014 'Flushing of Ligeia' paper https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...02/2014GL061133

The analogies I draw is with the Sea of Azov - Black Sea - Mediterranean gradient, with Azov much less salty than the Med. There's some backwash back and forth, causing mixing, but a net flow of freshwater from continental rainfall. Same story with the Baltic Sea and Atlantic.