The Bathymetry of Moray Sinus at Kraken Mare
Résumé
Moray Sinus is an estuary located at the northern end of Titan's Kraken Mare. We will present a detailed analysis of radar altimetry echoes received from the liquid surface of Moray Sinus during the T104 flyby of Titan (August 21st, 2014). Multiple waveforms exhibit a reflection from the seafloor from up to ~85 m of depth. In addition, several waveforms also show a 100-fold decrease in first reflection power, consistent with a roughened liquid surface over a portion of the track. Monte-Carlo simulations have been performed in order to assess the most probable values and estimations errors for the seafloor depth. Insights from this study, featuring the synergic use of the synthetic aperture radar images coupled to the altimetry and passive radiometry datasets, will be used to constrain the dielectric properties (i.e., absorptivity of the liquid) and roughness of this region of the Kraken Mare. Understanding the state of sea in this region will also be diagnostic for interpreting the occurrence of ephemeral phenomena. At the time of the T104 flyby, some areas within the Moray Sinus and the central portion of Kraken Mare had returns consistent with an increase in sea surface roughness and/or the presence of a transient surface layer of suspended or floating organic debris, similar to the observations of Ligeia Mare's "magic island" in T91. The implications for these results will be discussed in the context of other bathymetry observations, providing a post-Cassini view of Titan's methane-based hydrologic cycle.