According to foreign media New Atlas, Saturn's moon Titan is one of the most fascinating celestial bodies in the solar system, especially because it has huge oceans, lakes and liquid rivers. Now, scientists have used the radar to detect the composition and depth of the largest ocean of Titan, "Kraken Mare", and estimate it is at least 300 meters deep.
Titan atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen , and its dense clouds cover its surface topography. Therefore, NASA's Cassini detector orbited Saturn between 2004 and 2017, equipped with radar to better observe the ground. And the resulting image shows a surprisingly Earth-like landscape, the complete "water" cycle consists of liquid hydrocarbon compounds that are pooled into large oceans.
"The depth and composition of each ocean of Titan have been measured, except for Titan's largest ocean, Kraken-Mare, which not only has a great name, it also contains about 80% of the liquid on the surface of Titan," said Valerio Poggiali, the lead author of the study.
In the new study, researchers at Cornell University set out to correct this oversight. They used data collected during the 2014 Cassini flight, when the detector used its radar altimeter to measure three points inside the Kraken-Mare.
Radar altimeters work by emitting a beam of radio waves and then measuring the time it takes for them to bounce back from the ground below. Since these waves return at different rates from liquids and solids, it determines the depth of a liquid and provides insight into its composition.
The clearest data comes from Moray Sinus, an estuary in the north of Kraken-Mare. Here, the team found that the sea area was 85 meters (280 feet) deep, and the absorption of radar waves showed that it was composed of 70% methane, 16% nitrogen, and 14% ethane .
However, in the main body of Kraken-Mare, the research team could not find the signal from the seabed. This result may mean one of two situations: either the liquid has different compositions and absorbs more radar waves, or it has a deeper depth. The research team tends toward the latter possibility - after all, the composition of the liquid should not be much different in the same body.
If that is the case, the researchers estimate that the Craken-Mare must be at least 100 meters deep, and the deepest part may be 300 meters or more. This way, its depth is enough for robotic submarines to explore, and NASA has proposed a possible mission around 2040.
This study was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
