[X] My Assistant

[Juramike]

Something I've been playing with for a few months - using channel and valley relationships in different terrain units to infer relative elevation.
Low order --> high order = upstream --> downstream = higher elevation --> lower elevation.

While many of the terrain units could be placed on a relative scale, others are speculative. So this is partly artistic speculation rather than hard science. Still, most of the observed relationships seem to fit the model. I also creatively blurred things to soften the transitions. Pixel values are relative, not absolute.

Relative Elevation Model of Sikun Labyrinthus, Titan:


Overlay of PIA10219 (crop of T39 SAR RADAR Swath) and the derived Relative Elevation Model of Sikun Labyrinthus, Titan:


-Mike

[neo56]

AMAZING !!! I can't wait to see this work done for the whole moon. You must take many undergraduate students to do this job ! Maybe we will see this at the next LPSC.

[Juramike]

You must take many undergraduate students to do this job !

Nope. 1 man. 1 computer. No sleep.

[volcanopele]

Even when undergrad students are involved, that "1 person. 1 computer. No sleep" rule still applies, it just transfers it. I still remember Cassini's first flyby of Titan. I didn't get to sleep until noon...

[Webscientist]

Bravo for the analytical map of Sikun Labyrinthus!

I notice that Sikun Labyrinthus is not so far away from Mezzoramia, the area that may be a dried-up ( or partially dried-up) sea (as VolcanoPele once suggested on this forum). That's another argument in favour of a "Karstic Sikun Labyrinthus".

It's very exciting to imagine the implications of a "Karstic Sikun Labyrinthus", speleologically speaking, if you see what I mean.

Can anybody point out the mechanisms (chemical reactions...) by which the suspected liquids (methane, ethane...) can penetrate into the particular terrain of Sikun Labyrinthus to generate networks of caves?

[Juramike]

Can anybody point out the mechanisms (chemical reactions...) by which the suspected liquids (methane, ethane...) can penetrate into the particular terrain of Sikun Labyrinthus to generate networks of caves?

Workin' on that...

At Titan's low temperatures, it's likely not a chemical equilibrium. (i.e. no chemical bonds getting broken or formed INSIDE a molecule).

More likely it is a dissolution or other phase change process, where the weaker interactions BETWEEN molecules in a solid are being broken.

My current favorite analogy is if you ever drip acetone or pain thinner on a styrofoam block. [Warning: flammable, contact hazard, breathing hazard, etc. Don't do this at home without proper personal protection, well-ventilated space, and proper disposal.]

Here is a website showing the dissolution of styrofoam (polystyrene] with acetone: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000046
[Note the complete lack of safety glasses, protective gloves, and lab coat in the video. Grrrrr! And I don't want to even think about what they did with the resulting waste.....]

And here is what happens if you ever drip acetone acetone on styrofoam (at -78 C) (image in notes section at bottom of page): http://www.cowboyway.com/What/FreezeBranding2.htm