[X] My Assistant

[belleraphon1]

Titan T28 mission description is now available. Note grountracks displayed on pp 9-10.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/prod...description.pdf

[Juramike]

Europa-like cycloid crack propagation may be responsible for the evolution of the Dancing Monkey feature as shown in the following putative formation sequence. This final steps of this sequence are pretty much the same as proposed for the putative formation sequence for the neighboring Sliced Carrot feature (described in this post), save for the atmospheric chemistry product deposition:











Here are the steps in the putative sequence:
1) Cycloid cracks start
2) Cycloid cracks propagate (1 arc/orbit)
3) Cycloid cracks continue (Tectonic faulting also?)
4) Network widens
5) Erosion from runoff cuts/shapes makes new channels (river capture?): dark blue ice sands deposited
6) Bright material deposited
7) Inundation and flooding by hydrocarbon solvents removes bright material from below flood stage
8) Dune sands invade system
9) Atmospheric chemistry products brought down by seasonal rains: deposition over dune sands and bright highlands: contrast lowered.


(The exact formation sequence of the network will be very tricky to work out. Different cracks may have formed at different times. Shifting and faulting may also have occurred to complicate matters).

Here is a comparsion of the diagram from the sequence above with the observed image:



The Dancing Monkey feature is probably an overall shallow area that has cracks just at the right level to be inundated by flood events that removed the bright material and increased contrast. Rather than a series of canyons and hoodoos, the feature most likely resembles a low-lying series of backwater sloughs. (using the “western US” definition of slough. Earth analog: Elkhorn Slough wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkhorn_Slough)

We may expect to see more regions of cycloid cracks on Titan. The area directly to the SE of the Dancing Monkey feature may have formed similarly but lying slightly lower, was subject to more extensive erosion from fluvial and tidal effects of the Equatorial Sand sea basins.

It might be interesting to see if any of the ridges or grabens have a cycloidal or arcuate pattern overprinted on them. (T8 RADAR swath ridges that look like ski tracks? Or the "tiger stripes" river paths waaay up north?)


-Mike